


Ocean's Descent

by flamewhipper



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Bottom Jung Wooyoung, Evil Plans, Experimentation, Fantasy, Innocent Jung Wooyoung, Kidnapping, M/M, Magic Revealed, Merman Jeong Yunho, Merman Jung Wooyoung, Merman Song Mingi, Near Death Experiences, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prince Song Mingi, Real Life, Search for Immortality, Smut, Tags Contain Spoilers, Top Choi San, Torture, Violence, mermaid, merman, scientists - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 34
Words: 74,980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26279521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamewhipper/pseuds/flamewhipper
Summary: Water.It can be powerful and devastating, destroying everything in its path. The ultimate killer. Or it can be calm, soothing, and gentle, something that symbolized peace and life.Much like love.It can destroy lives and make them stronger.And this time, water is what starts a love that can be so strong, nothing will break it. Or it will implode, and destroy everything around it.For San, a human who is just trying to get through life, he never expected to learn that magic was real. He is sucked into a world he used to dream of as a little boy and finds out it is a lot more dangerous than he ever imagined.For Wooyoung, a merman who loves adventure and is fascinated by humans, he learns that not everything is as it seems and he could end up destroying everything important to him.Will their love stand the test of time? Or be destroyed with the next wave that crashes into the sand?
Relationships: Choi Jongho/Kang Yeosang, Choi San/Jung Wooyoung, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa
Comments: 20
Kudos: 196





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Twitter for updates! @flamewhipper1
> 
> Thank you for coming to read my story! I've always loved the idea of a mermaid AU so I decided to put my own spin on it! I will be updating here and on my Wattpad profile.
> 
> If you like my writing, please consider donating to my ko-fi: ko-fi.com/flamewhipper
> 
> The edits I have created for this are purely for my story. All credits go to the original owners for the pictures.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Comments and kudos are always appreciated <3

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	2. Chapter 2

"Get your lazy ass out of bed! I won't tell you again!"

"Go away Yeosang, I told you I'm not going." San grumbled from under his large, fluffy blue comforter. He had no intention of leaving his bedroom for as long as he could, unless he needed food or to go to the bathroom.

Suddenly his door burst open and slammed against the wall. "Choi San, just because you were fired does not mean you get to sulk around our apartment all summer! I will not let you hide away from the world when we have so many adventures to be had."

"Fuck adventure. I just want to wallow in self pity."

"Not. Happening." Yeosang grabbed the comforter and yanked on it with all his strength.

San whimpered and curled into a tighter ball in an attempt to fend off the cold air that kissed his skin, but it was no use. Especially when Yeosang leaned on his bed and started pushing into it to make San bounce in place.

"Fuck, alright!" San snapped, slapping the mattress and sitting up. "Just stop already!"

Yeosang smirked at him. "I already packed your suitcase. The only change of clothes left in your closet is the one for you to wear today. Go shower, you stink." With that final statement, Yeosang left the room.

San groaned and fell back on his bed, his arms spread wide on either side of him, and prayed for something to end his misery. He was nothing. He had no real purpose in life. Hell, he was fired from a job that was as simple as sorting supplies because he missed a box and it was sent to the wrong company. Sure, that wasn't the first time he had done it... but he had always tried his hardest to do a good job.

This was his life though. Ever since moving to the city with Yeosang to study dance at university, San had felt like his life was out of his control. He came here for Yeosang. And though he loved dancing, he didn't have the same kind of passion for it.

And that thought process was ridiculous because San was unnaturally gifted, to the point that his fellow classmates grew angry with him when he didn't put the same amount of effort in that they did.

So he dropped out and had been working random jobs ever since.

After letting out one more big sigh, San ran a hand through his messing blonde hair and cringed. The slightly greasy feeling told him it really had been a few days since he last showered.

What was so wrong with wanting to be a hermit? Then he would mess anything up anymore...

But Yeosang would never let him get away with it. The older had been taking care of him since they were kids and San had moved in with him after his parents died in a car accident.

San was too young at the time to remember them, but the Kang's had been very close with his parents, and with no other family, they decided to adopt him.

He and Yeosang had been inseparable ever since.

When he was finished, San had to admit that the shower did feel good. He stood in his room, towel drying his hair, wondering what sort of adventures Yeosang was talking about.

After dressing and giving himself a mental pep talk, San went and met Yeosang by the front door of their apartment. His friend was looking at something on his phone while leaning against the wall. Two large suitcases were sitting next to him.

"Where are we going?" San asked, trying to sound excited.

"You'll see. It's road trip time though!" Yeosang beamed and grabbed his suitcase.

"Seriously?" San arched an eyebrow. "You're not going to tell me anything?"

"Nope." Yeosang let the 'p' pop while he opened the door. "You'll just come up with an excuse to stay, even though I wouldn't let that slide. Come on San, I don't want to do this alone and I want to be able to enjoy my summer vacation. There's a group of us going if that makes you feel better."

"Not really..." The younger grumbled, but one begging look from his friend had him picking up his suitcase and following Yeosang out the door.

They stowed everything in the back of Yeosang's old Jeep and started to pull away from their apartment building. "Bye house! We'll see you in three months!" Yeosang waved out the window with a wide smile on his face.

"Three months!" San shrieked. He turned to open the car door, wanting to jump out and go back, but Yeosang just locked it and slapped his knee.

"Yes, the whole summer. I'm not going to let you waste this time Choi San. Some classmates and I have rented a beach house for the summer and we have a lot of different things planned. I think you're really going to like some of it." Yeosang flashed a kind, but knowing smile.

San pursed his lips and glared out the window. He wouldn't admit it yet, but it did actually sound like a lot of fun. There was something about the water that made him feel at ease. If he wasn't in the dance studio Yeosang always knew to look for him at the pool on campus.

Maybe that was pert of his problem.

San hadn't gone swimming since dropping out of school.

When it became obvious that San wasn't going to indulge him in an answer, Yeosang started talking about the other students they were going with.

He had made a few friends in the new dance class he was taking and they were who organized this. Someone by the name of Hwanwoong and Youngjo. Apparently they were inviting a bunch of their friends too and they had rented two beach houses right next to each other.

It was nice seeing his friend so excited. It mad San feel a little guilty for not taking as good of care of Yeosang as he should have been.

The drive to the ocean was almost twelve hours, so while San was upset that he wasn't given the choice as to whether or not he wanted to be stuck in a car for that long, he eventually gave in and let himself relax.

Whenever the conversation died, they would blast some music and sing at the top of their lungs. Every time they took a break they would switch who was driving, but by the time they finally pulled up to the house San was tired and grumpy.

"Be nice." Yeosang warned as they walked up the front steps carrying their suitcases.

"Tell that to me again after I get some food in my stomach." San grumbled. And yet he forced a smile on his face when he was greeted by four other guys all sitting in the living room.

"Yeosang! You made it!" One hopped up and ran over to help with the bags.

"Thanks Chan, sorry it took us so long. Someone took some persuasion to get out of bed."

Chan laughed and turned to San. "I've heard a lot about you, San, I'm glad you came. I think this is going to be a fun summer!"

"Yeah." San managed. "Um, where's our room?"

"Right! Let me show you which one is left." Chan laughed and turned around. "Oi, Felix! Give us a hand will you?"

Another boy jumped up and the four of them went down a side hall.

San was mildly disappointed in the fact that he had to share a room with Yeosang, but at least he wasn't being forced to share it with someone he didn't know.

Once they were settled, he and Yeosang migrated to the kitchen where there was a large pan of fried rice waiting for them.

The two other boys were Hwanwoong and Youngjo, and in the house next door were more of their friends.

When he was finished, San drifted out onto the back porch and leaned against the banister. The sound of the waves crashing gently against the beach and instantly helped him relax.

It was one of his favorite sounds.

The cool, salty breeze kissed his face and played with his feathery blonde hair. It called to him.

The faintest of smiles caused the corner of his mouth to tilt every so slightly.

"Feeling better?" Yeosang asked, coming to stand next to him.

"I will once you're arrested for kidnapping." San looked at him and pursed his lips.

The older snorted. "Right. And that will happen as soon you're locked in the psych ward."

"Fair point." San stood there in silence for several minutes just staring at the ocean. "Thanks. For this. I'll try not to spoil it too much."

"Knowing you, you will." Yeosang moved a little closer so their shoulders were touching. "But you're welcome."

San glanced at his friend out of the corner of his eye. Yeosang had always understood him and never pushed him to do or say anything. He understood San probably more than San understood himself.

He was a lost soul, drifting along like a piece of plywood in the middle of the ocean. Forever searching for someplace to wash ashore and finally be at peace.

"Come on, let's get some rest. We've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow." Yeosang placed a gentle hand on San's shoulder.

And he wasn't wrong.

Along with his four roommates, he suddenly found himself on a large boat with six other people that he couldn't remember the names of. Yeosang had been sure to introduce them, but San was horrible when it came to names and he was having a hard enough time staying sane with all the commotion.

From what he could gather, Yeosang's only classmates were Chan and Youngjo. Everyone else here was a friend of theirs, although they were all in the music department together.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen! We are heading out to deeper waters now, in just a little bit we may just come across some whales!" The ships captain said over the speakers.

Several excited cheers came from the other passengers and everyone started flocking toward the railing. Thankfully San and the group he was with was already there, but he was forced against the metal rail and it dug into his stomach a little.

"O-Oh, sorry." Yeosang stuttered next to him.

San turned to him and was about to say it wasn't his fault when he noticed that Yeosang wasn't looking at him and his cheeks here tinted pink.

"It's ok." A gentle voice said from his other side.

Leaning forward, San noticed that there was one of the boys from the other beach house on Yeosang's other side. He couldn't for the life of him ember the boy's name, but he seemed sweet with his round face, slightly pouty lips, and round brown eyes. His black hair fell across his forehead, which he ruffled while shifting nervously in place.

Well, hopefully one of them would have fun on this trip.

San made a mental note to watch the two of them closely.

Whale watching ended up being a bust, however. They spent a couple of hours out at sea with no sightings. The captain would talk about all the facts he had and apologized for the failed trip. He said all of them would receive a voucher for one more free trip and then made some joke about not being able to control the whales.

All of it just made San feel like it had been a waste of time. He would much rather be laying on the beach then cramped against the railing of a ship.

He was just about to ask the person behind him to let him get through when the ship lurched.

Several people gasped in surprise and started to look around.

"What was that?" Yeosang asked, trying to stand up on his toes.

The ship jolted and a loud groaning came from beneath their feet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain again. I regret to inform you that the ship has run aground after one of our engines failed. I ask that you please remain calm and take a life vest from one of the members of the crew. We have already notified the coast guard and they will be here soon."

"San..." Yeosang turned to him and gripped his arm.

"It's ok Sangie. We're going to be ok." San said, even though he could feel his heart racing.

The groaning continued below them and once more the ship rolled to the side.

"We're sinking! We're sinking!!"

At those words, panic erupted.

People started screaming and scrambling for a way off the ship.

In the commotion, Yeosang was pulled in a different direction. "San!" He yelled craning his neck to look back at his friend.

"Just go!" San shouted. He tried to move forward himself, but was held in place by something.

He looked down and noticed his shirt was caught on a piece of metal that was sticking out of the railing. San tugged at it several times, but he kept getting jostled around in the commotion.

He was stuck.

Adding to the panic, the smell of burning gasoline filled the air.

The engine room had caught of fire.

All the passengers were running in the opposite direction or just jumping off the ship to get away.

And San was still stuck.

His hands shook violently in his panic.

He yelped when the ship tilted violently.

Then it suddenly rolled in the other direction and the quick movement sent San tumbling over the side.

Cold water enveloped him. He flailed his arms trying to make his way back to the surface.

Something on the ship exploded right as he broke the surface.

Debris flew every where.

"Help!" San shouted.

All he could see in front of him was a tower of flames. They crackled and hissed, roaring to life and feeding off the flammable liquid leaking inside the hull of the ship.

"Help!" San spun in a circle, trying to find someone. Anyone.

But all he could see was flames.

Slowly, he tried to find a way out, but another explosion happened. It send something flying straight at the back of his head.

The forced pushed him below the surface of the water again and he brought his hand up to hold the back of his head.

Even in the water it came away red.

San's vision started to blur to the point where he could make out colors. It caused him to lose his sense of direction.

He couldn't tell where the surface was.

A scream escaped him as he started to panic, muffled by the water holding him prisoner.

He was sinking.

He was going to die...

Another distance, muffled boom sent a shockwave through the water, jostling him slightly.

San made one more attempt to try and swim in any direction. One last effort to save his life.

He was sinking.

This was it...

This was how he died.


	3. Chapter 3

Seaweed swayed gently back and forth, moving much like the wind would blow grass in the world above. Schools of fish danced in little groups. They moved together in perfect harmony with flashes of all colors of the rainbow.

Coral dotted the sea floor and surrounding rocks, adding to just how vibrant everything was.

There was just enough sunlight that everything had a majestic glow to it.

And adding to the beauty was one of the rarest creatures on earth.

Wooyoung spun in wide circles, laughing to himself as he did. Twirling behind him was his pride and joy. He had been blessed with a beautiful, deep purple tail that had hints of red around the edges.

It was rare for merfolk to have two different scale colors and he did everything he could to take care of it.

He was actually searching for something to help clean his scales right now. There was a specific starfish that used all of its little feelers to pick out any loose skin or particles in between scales. They liked to spend time on the highest rocks so that it was easier for the merfolk to find them.

"There you are!" Wooyoung said, letting himself sink down a little bit so that he was hovering next a large boulder. "Who wants to help me today?"

Several of the starfish started to slowly crawl toward him.

Just as he was about to pick a couple, a familiar voice called out to him. "Woo!"

He turned around to see his friend Yunho swimming over to him with his powerful, blue tail propelling him forward. "Hey, Yunho. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you. You know Mingi gets when you're gone for too long." Yunho rubbed the back of his neck and pressed his lips together.

"Really? It's like I'm not allowed to have any freedom." Wooyoung grumbled.

"You know it's not like that. I worry too." Yunho started fiddling with a gold bracelet around his right wrist. It was a simple, gold bracelet that had rubies set evenly along the band.

Mingi wore a matching one. It symbolized that the two of them had chosen each other as romantic partners.

There was one waiting for Wooyoung too, if he wanted to accept it.

"I'm fine. It's not like I go out looking for trouble." Wooyoung crossed his arms and glared at his friend.

"No, but trouble likes to find you. Mingi, and I, just want to make sure you stay safe." Yunho bowed his head.

This was a common thing between them. Yunho and Mingi spent so much time trying to tell Wooyoung to settle down and stay with them, that they would take care of him.

But Wooyoung wasn't ready to do any of that. Yet he let Yunho lead him home.

As he swam closer to his home, they angled down toward the lower levels of the ocean. Aquatis had escaped the notice of man find for centuries. Sure, there had been close encounters, but his people had come up with ways to protect themselves.

About one hundred years ago, man kind had been too close. They had started hunting for the elusive mermaids spoken of in legend and set up several traps. While they never found anyone to bring to the surface, several of the trapped mermen and mermaids perished from the injuries they had received.

It almost caused their entire race to vanish... They were just now starting to rebuild.

Aquatis, as far as they knew, was the last place on earth that had any connection to the magic of old. It's what protected their kind, gave them long lives, and gave them the magic they themselves had been gifted with.

The city was built of golden pillars and adorned with magical lamps that looked like fire was burning underwater.

Sea creatures of all kinds also called the spectacular city home.

Wooyoung watched as a young boy with black tail let a sea turtle pull them along. He looked like he was close to coming of age, so soon the black would turn into one of the brilliant colors that made each member of his race unique.

"Come on, he wants to see you." Yunho said softly, reaching out to take Wooyoung's hand.

He allowed it, only because he did care for his friend, but it was just one more thing that made him feel like he was trapped here.

The couple swan through the halls of the main palace. Several other guards nodded to Yunho as they passed by. Yunho had recently been promoted to head of the royal guard, so they all knew to respect him.

When they reached the throne room, it opened up into a grand area covered in carvings and intricate stone worked. Colored shells and stone had been used to create murals depicting epic battles with humans or romantic stories of previous monarchs.

Mingi was hovering off to the side of the room, looking over a table that Wooyoung knew held maps of the area. A simple golden crown fit snuggly around his forehead, covered partially by his vibrant red hair.

Wooyoung sighed. He always felt so out of place in here. Yunho seemed to come by it naturally, but he had spend a lot of time in the palace walls.

Mingi was the only son of the current monarchs and next in line for the throne. Since he came from the royal bloodline, Mingi's tail was one glorious enough to show his ranking among their people. His scales were different shades of red and orange and he had several small fins branching out from it. They flowed together and made Mingi look gorgeous even when just staying in one place.

And Wooyoung couldn't deny it. His prince was attractive, with his sharp jawline, broad shoulder, and powerful tail, Mingi was a force to be reckoned with.

Yunho swam forward and placed a hand on Mingi's back. The two of them exchanged a love filled look before placing their hands on the back of each other's heads so they could connect their foreheads.

Wooyoung pursed his lips and looked down. He picked at the scales where they started to fade to the skin on his stomach, wishing he had been able to clean his scales.

"Where have you been?" Mingi asked, finally turning around. There wasn't any accusation in his voice, although Wooyoung still flinched.

"I was out looking for starfish." He answered truthfully.

"You know we keep some here. Why do you insist on wandering off?" Mingi slowly drifted over to him. "It's not safe ou—"

"And what exactly is going to harm me, Mingi?" Wooyoung snapped. "There hasn't been any threats in this area for at least fifty years. Why are you always so paranoid?"

Mingi flinched slightly, but his royal upbringing made it so that he was unable to look away. "Why are you always so stubborn? You know I—"

"I don't want to hear it Mingi! I know what you want, I get the message loud and clear every time you send your guard dog out to find me. How many times do I have to tell you, I don't know what I want?"

The hurt that crossed Mingi's, and Yunho's, face made Wooyoung instantly feel guilty. He stuck his lower lip out in a pout and turned his head away.

He knew his words had stung. The three of them had grown up together, they had done everything together and knew almost everything about each other. It was only natural that Mingi and Yunho had chosen each other.

It wasn't unheard of for there to be small pods within their species. Affection was shown among everyone, and when mating pods were formed, it just made any preexisting bonds stronger. All pods were signified by a bracelet. It told others in their race that that merman or mermaid was spoken for. It was a symbol of pride.

And one that Wooyoung longed for, but felt he would never find.

When neither of them spoke, Wooyoung shook his head and fled.

He despised himself for being different. All it did was bring the others pain. Even his mentor, a renowned healer in Aquatis, voiced his concerns on occasion.

Why didn't he feel like he belonged?

The open ocean called to him, just like it always did, and Wooyoung found himself swimming out of the palace as fast as his tail would allow. Each strong stroke propelled him forward.

Soon he was outside the protection of his home.

And he had not intention of stopping.

He needed to clear his head. He hated that Mingi was such a trigger for him now, it wasn't fair. But the prince had been more and more forward toward Wooyoung recently and it was driving him crazy.

Before he knew it, he was close enough to the surface that a pod of dolphins came over to say hello. Their clicks and chirps brought a smile to his face and Wooyoung held a hand out in greeting.

One came forward and pushed its snout into the palm of his hand, then let out a long sequence of trills before it spiraled away from him.

Wooyoung called out to it, imitating the chirps as he swam ahead.

All merfolk knew how to speak with the creatures of the sea, although dolphin was one rarely used.

Wooyoung knew he was breaking so many rules right now, but the land above fascinated him. In school his electives had all centered around learning about humans and the long history they'd shared.

He knew it was forbidden to break the surface. And truthfully he had never done so. It was rare that he was able to leave the city like this, and the few times he could he had been to afraid.

But a loud sound somewhere in the distance drew his attention and he had a feeling deep in the pit of his stomach that everything was going to change.

The dolphins instantly fled.

All sound was muffled.

Wooyoung swam forward to investigate.

There was a red glow and if he focused, he could tell that the area was where the mysterious sounds were coming from.

The closer he got, the more he registered that it was screaming.

Wooyoung sped up and for the first time in his life, broke the surface of the water.

Everything was so loud and overwhelming. He immediately slapped his hands to his ears and tried to process what was going on.

He knew enough about humans to recognize that one of their ships was sinking. He had explored some of the wreckage on the sea floor, but they had all been several years old at least. 

The other thing he recognized was fire. From what he knew, it was very dangerous, and it was destroying the ship.

Humans were screaming and jumping off it. Many others were already in the water.

Another loud sound slammed into his ears and several pieces of the ship flew in all directions.

Without thinking, Wooyoung dove below the surface and whipped his tail behind him. He could see the ship slowly sinking further into the water, along with pieces of the cargo.

Everything was such a mess.

Wooyoung had no idea what to do, but he wanted to help. There were a few simple spells he could use to possibly help... but they would risk exposure.

And yet the humans were in danger.

Wooyoung cringed.

He was going to be in so much trouble...

Just as he was about to call upon his magic, something sinking caught his attention.

A human.

He was sinking and not showing any signs of trying to save himself.

Acting on instinct, Wooyoung rocketed forward and hooked his arms underneath the human's. The added weight made it a little harder for him to swim, but Wooyoung worked as hard as he could to propel himself to the surface.

The boy in his arms didn't react once they were above the water again and Wooyoung knew that was bad. Humans needed to breath air, that's why the water was so deadly for them.

"Wake up." Wooyoung said, shaking him a little.

The boy's wet hair fell into his eyes as his head rolled to the side.

He needed to get out of the water.

Wooyoung used his tail to move forward while holding onto the human with one arm. He used the other one to pull himself forward.

Everything was still so loud... His head was starting to pound and there was a loud, constant whining sound coming from the other side of the sinking ship.

A small stretch of beach appeared in front of him surrounded by rocks. Wooyoung figured it would be a safe place for him to try and pull the human out of the water.

It was a struggle, one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do.

No one had ever told him just how heavy his tail was out of the water and he felt like he was dragging a second body as he pulled himself, and the human, onto the beach.

By the time he was done, Wooyoung was panting heavily. He was thankful for the fact that merman anatomy allowed him to covert water into oxygen, but he was also able to breath above the surface, otherwise he would be in so much trouble.

He was only able to get the boy out of the water enough so that the water reached his hips. It would have to do.

While working to catch his breath, Wooyoung pushed himself up so that he could lean over the human. "Wake up. Please. Wake up." He whispered, tapping the boy's face.

The pounding in his head made it so that he couldn't focus on the boy's face but he couldn't give up.

Wooyoung placed a hand on the human's chest and pressed down.

"Wake up. Please..."


	4. Chapter 4

Wooyoung felt himself starting to panic when the boy in front of him wouldn't wake up.

He looked around the beach and bit his lip. He didn't see any other people around... Maybe he would be more help if he could change.

It was something he had never done before, but he had read about it several times.

Wooyoung closed his eyes and let his mind open. He reached for the magic deep within him, calling on it and willing it to come forward.

He could feel his scales starting to heat up as a result of it. They almost itched and he had to fight the urge to claw at them.

Focus. He needed to focus.

The magic pressed against him, asking him what it was he wanted.

Wooyoung envisioned his tail turning into two human legs, making sure to add in a layer of what they called clothes, and asked the magic to grant his wish.

Suddenly, Wooyoung was levitating above the sand and his scales were glowing even brighter while purple streams of light swirled around his legs.

It was strange... The magic seemed to numb everything. He didn't feel his tail splitting in half and shrinking down to the legs he was sporting as soon as the magic had finished.

His mouth opened when he noticed the thin layer of cloth covering his legs and he spent a few seconds wiggling his toes.

Then he turned back to the boy next to him and moved to a kneeling position.

It was SO much easier moving around now! Wooyoung had to contain his excitement to focus on the task at hand.

He pressed down on the boy's chest several times. "Wake up. I need you to wake up."

After one particularly hard push, the boy suddenly spit up several mouthfuls of water. He rolled onto his side and clutched his stomach.

"It's ok. You're ok." Wooyoung said. It just now dawned on him that he was speaking in a human tongue. It must be another gift from the magic.

The boy took another moment to collect himself, then sat up so he could hang his head between his knees. His breathing was still ragged and shaking, but he seemed to be ok.

Wooyoung sat back, patiently waiting. He took the time to study the other's lean frame. From what he could see, the boy was fit and incredibly handsome.

"Thank you." He finally said, ruffling his wet, blonde hair. His words scraped against his throat and Wooyoung saw him flinch.

"It's ok. I'm glad I could help."

The boy slowly lifted his head and turned to glance at the merman. Wooyoung felt his gut flip the instantly he locked eyes with the beautiful, golden brown irises in front of him.

Everything seemed to stop. Wooyoung felt his mouth fall open a little and his heart started to pound, almost as if it was just starting for the first time. Even the sound of the ocean grew distant.

He was... stunning.

"You didn't get hurt at all, did you?" The boy asked, taking a look over Wooyoung. "I don't remember seeing you on the ship. Did everyone make it out ok?"

Wooyoung rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. He still felt like he was under a spell but looking away seemed to help. "I don't know. I wasn't on it; I just saw you go under the water."

"You... risked your own life... for mine?"

The merman peeked up at the boy and felt his cheeks heat up a little. "Well, yeah. I couldn't just let you die."

Wooyoung started to count the breaths that filled the silence between them. He found his hand drifting over to the part of his neck where his gills used to be. His fingers drifted back and forth in an obsessive fashion and he couldn't stop shifting his legs.

"My name is San, by the way." The boy said, his voice adopting a shy tone to it.

"San." Wooyoung breathed. It rolled off his tongue in a way that made him want to say it over and over. "I'm Wooyoung."

"Thank you again, Wooyoung. I feel like we should probably try to find our way back, I'm sure my friends are worried about me."

The merman nodded in agreement and pushed himself off the ground with ease. It was odd, when he thought about it Wooyoung felt like things shouldn't be this easy for him. But then again, magic worked in strange ways, so he decided not to question it.

San, however, was a little shaky, so Wooyoung ducked under the blonde's arm while wrapping an arm around his waist. "I've got you. Just take it slow."

The pair of them walked slowly along the beach. It was hard for Wooyoung to not ask a million questions, like what had happened to the boat, or what the thing floating in the water did, or what the strange creature sitting on the boulder was.

His wide eyes took in everything that he could of this new world. From some of his studying, he knew that there were things that soared through the air like he could swim in the water. He thought they were called birds, but he couldn't quite remember.

Wooyoung also had to make sure to pace himself. Every so often San would make a noise of discomfort and wince a little while holding his side.

"Are you ok?"

San nodded. "I think so. I might have bruised a rib or something, though." He sighed, then mumbled, "Just my luck..."

They walked around a little bend and the sound of a crowd assaulted Wooyoung's ears.

There were humans everywhere. Many were waving their arms franticly or trying to push their way through the group and all of them were talking as loud as possible.

Wooyoung suddenly felt very overwhelmed and he paused. He was not used to gatherings being this big unless there was an important royal announcement. And even then, he was able to stay off to the side since he was so close with Mingi.

"Come on," San grunted and started to walk again. "I'm sure there's a check-in somewhere."

Hesitantly, Wooyoung let San guide him forward now while doing his best to still support the human. His eyes flicked in all directions and his head started to pound.

Several people were panicking, pleading with other humans to help them find their loved ones that had been on the boat. Others were just shouting names.

"SAN!"

The couple paused and looked around.

"SAN! San please answer me!"

San groaned and straightened up, craning his neck to see over the crowd. "Sangie!" He shouted back.

"S-San..." Wooyoung whimpered. Other humans kept shoving him and pushing him around. He started to feel very small and enclosed and he didn't like it.

The human next to him didn't hear him, though, and Wooyoung turned to press his head into San's shoulder.

"SAN!"

"Sangie! I'm over here!" The blonde shouted. "Oh, this is pointless. Come on, let's try and get to the edge." San said, finally turning to force their way out of the crowd.

Wooyoung now found himself clinging to the human. He felt so out of control. It was a feeling he didn't like. At this moment, Wooyoung wanted nothing more than to run back for the ocean and lose himself in the comforting sways of the water he called home.

When they reached the edge, Wooyoung took a deep breath and tried to get himself under control. He let San pull him back to the edge of the beach and the sand between his toes soothed him a little.

Then it did more than that. Wooyoung couldn't fight the grin that crossed his face as he stared down at and wiggled his toes.

He had toes! And although he didn't really have any standards to compare them to, he though his feet were pretty darn cute.

"San! Oh my god, San! You're ok!" The voice that had been shouting from before came from in front of them. Wooyoung's head snapped up and he saw a boy with slightly wavy brown hair running at them at full speed.

The merman managed to get out of the way just as the newcomer threw himself at San.

"S-Sangie, I'm fi—Ow! Oh ow, ow, ow." San winched and his friend immediately stepped back.

"You're hurt. Let me see if I can find a medic."

"No, it's not that bad. Are you ok?" San grabbed his friend's wrist to stop him. "Is everyone else ok?"

The brunette nodded and shifted his hand to hold San's.

Wooyoung pressed his lips together and looked down at the sand, suddenly feeling like he didn't belong here...

"Yes, after the explosion I don't remember much. It was kind of a mad house. Everyone was trying to do what they could to get to shore. I sent everyone home, from what I could see the others just got a few bumps and bruises." His friend paused and took a deep breath. "And when you weren't w-with us... San I was so scared. Where have you been? What happened to you?"

"I don't remember a whole lot either but," San turned to glance at Wooyoung. "Wooyoung here saved me."

At the mention of his name, Wooyoung lifted his head a little. He knew he had to look pathetic right now, shifting uncomfortably in place, but he didn't know what else to do. It was too dangerous to transfer with this many people around.

The next thing that happened shocked him, though.

San's friend rushed forward and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you, thank you so much. You're a hero."

Behind him, San rolled his eyes and shook his head. "There's no need for melodramatics. It's not like I wa—"

"It's not a problem. He probably wouldn't have made it if I didn't help, it was only the right thing to do." Wooyoung said, chewing on the inside of his cheek.

"What?!"

"Yeosang, calm down. I'm fine!" San grabbed his shoulder and pulled him away when he was Wooyoung flinch. "I just swallowed some water. I'll be fi—"

"Don't you dare say it Choi San. We are going back to the beach house right now so you can rest." Yeosang glared at San, then turned back to Wooyoung, "And you're coming with us so we can thank you properly."

Wooyoung was about to protest, but Yeosang grabbed his hand and started to pull him forward while still scolding San for being reckless and not valuing his own life.

An adorable pout crossed the blonde's face and Wooyoung found himself unable to look away. Every line, every curve... San was addicting to him already. All regard for his own safety was washed away at the prospect of getting to spend more time with San.

He was surprised when they started walking along the beach again. Wooyoung had been expecting to have to go through the loud mass of people so he was thankful that he didn't need to deal with that again.

What he wasn't prepared for, however, was the group of boys that came running out of two houses to greet them once they were in sight.

Once more, they were all talking at once as they tried to figure out what had happened to San.

The only thing that comforted him was the fact that San looked just as uncomfortable as he did.

"Guys, guys, please!" Yeosang said, holding up his hands. "We can talk about it later, let me get him inside."

One other boy came forward and ducked under San's arm. "Here, let me help you up the stairs."

"Thanks, Jongho." Yeosang smiled and turned back to Wooyoung. "Come on. I'll get you something to drink while we make sure San is ok. We don't bite." He added with a small chuckle.

Wooyoung blushed and looked down, embarrassed that Yeosang could probably see how scared he was.

One curious look from San hand him tossing caution to the wind, though, and he eagerly followed the humans into their home, leaving the sea forgotten behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

San winced when he was slowly lowered to sit on the edge of the bathtub. He knew all the moving around was probably the worst thing he could have done, but he didn't want to be stuck on the beach anymore.

Even so, it felt like he was probably just bruised. At least, that's all he hoped it was.

Yeosang knelt down in front of him and helped him take his shirt off, which resulted in him having to work the sleeve down and off San's left arm because he couldn't lift it.

"You must have hit something when you fell overboard." His friend muttered. "Can you move it to the side at all?"

San hissed and rotated his arm a little. It almost felt like he didn't have any muscle power... This was worse than he thought.

And that was backed up by the gasp that came from Yeosang and Jongho, who had just stepped into the bathroom with a first aid kit.

"San..." Yeosang whispered.

Biting his lip, San looked down at his left side and saw that it was colored several shades of purple, red, and black. "Fuck."

"What do we do?" Yeosang turned to Jongho, his hand now covering his mouth.

"Nothing, I'm fine." San waved his good hand back and forth. He didn't want to go to any hospital, mostly because he didn't have health insurance. "Just wrap it for now and we will see how it does in a couple of days.

"Bu—"

"Yeosang, you know I can't right now. So I'm just going to have to deal with it. If it gets any worse then I'll let you take me, but I can't afford it..." San looked down at the ground. He could feel my embarrassment rising with the stares coming from Yeosang and his friend.

"Ok, I'm going to help you lift your arm then." Yeosang said gently.

He and Jongho worked together to wrap San's waist in a bandage to put pressure on whatever damage had been done. The back of his mind told him there could be internal bleeding, but he was hoping it was just a bruised or cracked rib.

"San?" A small voice came from the entrance to the bathroom and his head snapped up to see Wooyoung peaking around the corner. He looked a little overwhelmed, but also concerned as he looked into the room.

"Hey." San said, pausing as he took in the stranger who had saved him. It was his first time he had really been able to take in the boy, and he was left feeling speechless.

Wooyoung was... stunning. He had soft, lavender hair that fell across his forehead. Round, curious, honey colored eyes peeked out from below his hair and there was a small mark below left eye.

"Are you ok?" Wooyoung asked, poking his head out a little more.

"I am thanks to you." He offered a small smile and allowed Yeosang to help him stand.

"You're hurt..." Wooyoung stepped away from the door to get out of the way but then followed them down he hall.

"Who is he?" Jongho asked, looking over his shoulder. His eyes drifted over Wooyoung and San felt himself bristling a little.

Several voices came from the main section of the house. "They are worried." Yeosang muttered. "This was not how today was supposed to go..."

Jongho branched off to go to the others while San hung his head. "I'm sorry, Sangie."

"I'm not blaming you, at all, but I am prepared to sue whoever was driving that damn boat."

San wouldn't put it past him either.

When they reached their shared room, Yeosang slowly lowered San onto his bed and propped him up with several pillow, then pulled the blankets up. Once he was sure San was comfortable he left to get some water and pain killers, leaving San and Wooyoung alone together.

"You don't have to stay, if you have some place you need to be." San said while picking at the blanket covering his legs.

"I don't. I want to make sure you'll be ok." Wooyoung said.

San peeked at him and noticed that he was shifting back and forth nervously. He still only had a pair of pants on that looked a little baggy for his thin frame. "You can borrow a shirt from the closet." He offered.

Wooyoung glanced at him with wide eyes and opened his mouth a little. He almost looked confused.

"It's just right there." San said, pointing with his good hand. He watched as the boy turned slowly and walked over to the closet door.

It was almost like all of Wooyoung's movements were slow and calculated. He turned the handle and pulled it open. San watched his head rock back and forth while he hesitated.

"It doesn't matter which one, you can use any of them." San said, then bit back a laugh when Wooyoung jumped.

"O-Ok. Thanks." The boy pulled out one of the shirts and seemed to study how it was hanging on the hanger for a moment. It was odd, almost like Wooyoung had no idea what he was doing.

San was about to ask him about it, but Yeosang came back in and hanged him three large pills. "Here, Chan had some pain killers. I managed to convince him to stay away, although he is trying to get ahold of the company to see if there's anything they are going to do about this. He's furious, and quite frankly, so am I." Yeosang crossed his arms and watched as San swallowed the pills. "They had better do something or I'm going to lose it."

"Easy Killer. I'm sure they will do something." San shook his head and closed his eyes while leaning back into his pillows. Just sitting here, the pain wasn't as bad. Or maybe it was the pain killers kicking in already.

Yeosang started to mutter something else about how angry he was at the company before huffing and said he was going to go see about getting everyone some food.

When he was gone, San peeked through his eyelashes and couldn't help but smile when he realized Wooyoung had put his shirt on inside out. It was cute. "Where are you from?" San asked.

"Um, around here." Wooyoung said, coming over to sit on the side of the bed. "What about you? Do you live here too?"

"No, I just came here with Yeosang and a bunch of his friends for the summer. It's just my luck I'd get hurt on the first day." San rolled his eyes. "I didn't even want to come in the first place."

Wooyoung's forehead furrowed and he looked down at his fingers. Then his eyes drifted a little further down to his toes, which he started to wiggle back and forth.

San had no idea what to make of him. He seemed to get distracted by things easily and everything fascinated him.

Then his head snapped up and he looked at the window. "Oh, oh no. I—" Wooyoung stood up and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I— I need to go."

"Wait, why so suddenly?" San moved to sit up and then winced when his side screamed in pain. For whatever reason, he didn't want to see Wooyoung go...

Wooyoung looked like he felt the same way and hesitated, but then he started scratching his arms. "I-I'm sorry. I can't stay." Red lines appeared where his fingers dug into his skin. "I c-can't..."

"Wooyoung, stop, you're hurting yourself." San tried to move again, but this time he let out a small whimper.

Wooyoung stopped and hurried forward. "Don't move." He whispered. Then he bit his lip and looked over his shoulder. Slowly, he lowered his hand so that it was placed right on top of San's wound. There was no pressure that came from the touch, but it was almost like Wooyoung was trying to protect it. "Rest, please." He gave a pained smile.

"Will you come back?" San asked grabbing the other's arm with is good hand.

Wooyoung paused and looked like he was really contemplating his answer, but then she gave another shy and nodded. "I will try."

Before San could asked what he meant by that, Wooyoung was running out of the room. He thought he heard Yeosang calling after him, but he suddenly felt so tired.

San couldn't even stay away long enough to eat the dinner Yeosang brought back him as his pillows welcomed him into their comforting embrace.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung felt like he was falling apart. His entire body itched and even as he ran, he could help but drag his nails across his arms and chest.

He had taken it as his sign that he needed to get back in the water. The others in the house called out for him to stop, but Wooyoung just slipped by all of them and ran down onto the beach.

His head was clear enough that he knew to run a ways along the sand until he was sure he was out of sight. He managed to find a small cove tucked away and hidden inside some boulders.

As soon as he ducked behind one of them, Wooyoung pulled the shirt San had given him over his head and tucked it away on one of the higher rocks so that it hopefully wouldn't get wet. Then he ran into the water and cried out when his skin started to hiss.

He could feel the magic leaving him. Steam billowed around him, growing thicker the deeper he walked into the water.

If he could even call it walking.

Soon Wooyoung was dragging himself through the water by his arms and kicking his vanishing legs. He made a mental not that his transformation period was going to render him useless.

But soon, he was rocketing forward through the water with his purple tail.

It was strange. Being back in this form gave him a sense of security. He was home in the water. And yet, once he was deep enough, Wooyoung swam back to the surface.

He used his tail to gently sift the water so that he could keep his head above the waves and look at the house he knew San was sleeping in right now.

There was something about the human that captivated Wooyoung and he was going to do everything he could to comeback tomorrow. Especially because he knew San would be ok.

Wooyoung had used some of his magic to heal San's injury. He hadn't been able to leave his hand there long enough to completely heal him, but it was enough to that San wouldn't have to go to whatever the hospital thing was that he wanted to avoid.

With one final look, Wooyoung flipped around and dove beneath the surface again. His tail slapped against the surface, creating a powerful wave, before pushing him forward.

Wooyoung dreaded going home, but he knew he needed to. Mingi was going to be furious that he had disappeared all day, so he wasn't looking forward to that.

Maybe he could slip in without anyone noticing and go to where they kept all their records. Wooyoung knew he needed to find everything he could on the transformation.

Honestly, he hadn't been expecting it to work. He knew that a lot of went into their magic was just imagining things and willing it to happen since their entire body was coursing with magic. There were limits, but only if the use of magic would be too much for their body to handle.

Maybe he could even find some kind of record on humans to try and learn a little more. He felt like a complete fool when San was trying to tell him where to find a shirt and he was surprised San hadn't said anything.

Wooyoung knew he needed to try and act a little cooler if he was going to fit in as a human. He would do everything it took because he was determined to San again.

Nothing was going to keep him away.

Except maybe the blue-tailed merman waiting for him outside the entrance with his arms crossed over his chest...


	6. Chapter 6

"Where have you been?" Yunho snapped. His tail flicked back and forth in irritation, making him bob up and down in place.

Wooyoung paused and wished he could just disappear. It was near impossible to upset Yunho, he was a bundle of sunshine, even when he was supposed be serious while on guard duty.

But now... it was written all over his face. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were narrowed. "Well?"

"I was just out." Wooyoung said, scrambling for some kind of excuse that would make sense.

"All day? Mingi and I have been looking for you for hours! You went outside our borders, didn't you?" Yunho snapped.

"Why does it matter?" Wooyoung balled his hands into fists at his side. He was tired of feeling like he had to be watched all the time. He was very fond of both Yunho and Mingi, but this was getting ridiculous.

He watched the older merman open and close his mouth several times before he shook his head. "Woo... Please, I don't want to fight. You know we care for you and we just want to know that you're safe." Yunho's voice dropped as he spoke and he bowed his head. "Just..." He rubbed the back of his head.

Wooyoung nodded. Guilt started to bubble up in him when he thought about how many rules he had broken today. If something had happened to him... They would have no idea.

And yet he couldn't wait to go back and see San again.

He knew there wasn't anything he could do right now, so he swam forward and tried to go past his friend without saying anything, but Yunho grabbed him and pulled him into a hug.

Wooyoung felt himself tense for just a second, then he relaxed and wrapped his arms around Yunho's waist. "I'm sorry for worrying you." He whispered, turning his head to lean it against Yunho's shoulder. Their tails moved in sink while the two of them just floated there.

"It's ok. Let's go see Mingi, he's worked himself up to the point where he's almost sent out a search party." Yunho chuckled and rotated so the two of them could swim inside the city walls.

It was late enough now that everything was quiet. The magic flame they used for light had been dimmed and changed to a soft purple so that it was easy on the eyes.

The palace was still lit up by some bright yellow lights though. Someone was always awake within the golden walls.

They swam right past the library. Wooyoung glanced at it and bit the inside of his lip to keep himself moving. A few turns and long hallways later and soon found himself dreading the open arch that stood in front of him.

Long strands of seaweed had been grown a certain way so that they covered the opening, acting like a barrier between rooms to offer a semblance of privacy. There were none of those strange things that humans called 'doors' here. Every house had some kind of plant barrier that was easy to swim through.

Yunho pulled some of the seaweed aside and motioned for Wooyoung to go through.

The younger sighed and did as requested, swimming into the room that Yunho and Mingi shared.

For being the crown prince, Mingi really was a simple merman. Neither he nor Yunho were crazy about a lot of color, so there were only a few decorations in their room, mostly consisting of shells or neat rocks. In the corner was a large rock that had been carved out and covered with layers of moss to provide a soft padding for the couple to sleep on. It took up about a third of the room, only because it was made big enough for three...

As soon as he saw movement, Mingi turned around from where he'd been staring out the window. The extra fins on his tail swirled around him at the sudden movement. He rushed forward and brought Wooyoung into his arms, holding him like he never intended on letting go again. "Thank Ata you're ok. Where have you been? No one has seen or heard from you all day! After our fight..."

"I just went for a swim, Mingi." Wooyoung said while trying to push his prince away. "I needed... I needed to think."

Mingi finally let go and looked down at him. "And?"

Wooyoung looked to the side stayed quiet. He knew what Mingi wanted to hear, and he also knew that his answer was going to be one that Mingi would never accept.

He didn't belong with them. No matter how much he tried to tell himself that he cared for the couple, he knew he'd never be happy if he stayed with them.

But why did he feel so bad for thinking that?

"I... I need time, Mingi. You can't force me to make a decision." Wooyoung turned his back to the couple.

"Ok, fine, I won't." Mingi's voice grew hard. His 'prince' side was coming out. "But you can't go disappearing like that without letting anyone know where you are."

"Why?" Wooyoung whirled around. "Do you keep tabs on anyone else who lives here? Do you know where every single one of your subjects are for every second of the day? No! You don't! And I know that because I'm around you enough to know how your life works! I'm not stupid, Mingi! And I don't like feeling like you have me on a leash!"

The older merman's face grew red with anger and his tail twitched back and forth. "Well maybe I need to put you on one so you don't keep wandering off. I don't keep track of everyone here because no one else has the habit of wandering past our borders like you do."

"No, you just do it because you are over protective and can't stand the thought of me finding someone else to mate with!"

"Guys..." Yunho tried to say, holding up his hands, but he was ignored.

"And is there something wrong with that?" Mingi asked, looking both furious and hurt.

"Yes, because what if I do?" Wooyoung's mind instantly went to San. He knew it was ridiculous, by he longed to go back to the surface and see more of the human. "What if I find someone who makes me happy?"

Silence fell over the room and all three mermen looked away from each other. Yunho was the first to speak, but his tone was hushed and reserved. "Do we not make you happy?"

"You know that's not what I meant." Wooyoung answered, pouting a little but still not looking away from the wall. "You are my closest friends, of course you make me happy. It's just..."

"Who else would you even be with? You know everyone in the pod. Has someone caught your interest or made a move?" Mingi crossed his arms again, as if he was trying to contain himself. Which he probably was. Mingi was known for being jealous.

"No. But I don't want to talk about this anymore! You can't force me into this Mingi." Wooyoung finally turned to look at his friend.

"Fine." Mingi snapped.

Wooyoung took that as a dismissal and swam from the room. Once he was a good distance away, he darted down the halls and into the library. He knew he should really go to his room and that Yunho would come check on him, but he was getting to the point he didn't care.

He needed to find out more.

In the far back corner was where they kept the scrolls on humans.

Squid ink combined with crushed scales from a merfolk's tail created a special ink that would always be permanent. And the scrolls were made of stretched and thinly sliced seal skin that was also rubbed with a paste made from various shells and scales.

Wooyoung started to sift through them, scanning the delicate script for anything he could use. There were a lot on the wars they used to have with the humans. Wooyoung felt his nerves rising a little when he saw illustrations of the weapons humans would use against his kind.

The worst one was the serrated nets they had created to keep them trapped and injured, weakening them the longer they stayed trapped.

It made Wooyoung shiver and he ran his hands over his scales, trying to reassure himself that it was still there and ok.

After a few minutes, he moved on to the documents about merfolk magic. He needed to have a better grasp over what he was doing if he was going to be successful in going back to see San.

Just thinking about the blonde haired human brought a smile to Wooyoung's face and he placed a hand over his heart.

It took a couple of tries, but he finally found one that spoke of transformation. Wooyoung dropped down onto the sandy floor and wiggled back and forth to make a little divot he could nestle into.

"Transformation... Transformation..." He muttered to himself. "Powerful source of magic, uses a lot of energy... Here!" Wooyoung leaned forward to read. "Transformation can only last so long. It slowly drains the magic, which is fueled by being in contact with water. The stronger the user's magic, the longer they can be away, but they must return to water before their magic runs out or the user will die."

Wooyoung hesitated and lowered the scroll a little.

That put a damper on things... Wooyoung didn't like the idea of his time on the surface being limited.

But then again, that could be a good thing. It would ensure that he would return home every day and that would kind of keep Mingi off his back.

There had to be some way to keep Mingi and Yunho from checking up on him every day. He knew they would grow suspicious... but maybe after tonight they would get off his case for a little bit. 

He was just about to turn in for the night when he came across another scroll that was tucked away in the corner.

Curiosity got the better of him and Wooyoung pulled out the scroll. A lot of it was in old mermish, which was a language no one studied anymore. They had simplified their language and adapted it over the years to make it easier to record things because making the ink and paper was a long process. Only the most important things were written down.

A few people must have left some side notes on what they were able to translate, but even those looked like they had faded with time.

The scroll must have been forgotten...

He could tell it talked about mating and some kind of tradition. From the illustrations, he thought it was talking about the gifts they would give each other, like the bracelets Mingi and Yunho had on their right wrists.

That had always been an old tradition so it would make sense.

One word stood out to him though, one single word that was scribbled quickly on the corner of the page.

Fated.

Wooyoung tilted his head to the side and quirked his lips to the left. "What does that mean?" He muttered to himself.

But that would be a problem for another day. Right now he was happy that he had found the information he had. Knowing he had a time limit on land was huge, and that would explain the crazy itching feeling he experienced earlier where it felt like he was going to claw his arms off. 

He would just have to learn the signs so that he could leave when he needed to without raising too much suspicion.

When Wooyoung returned to his room he settled into his moss covered bed and laced his fingers behind his head so he could stare up at his ceiling.

His heart started to race at the idea of seeing San again. There were so many things he wanted to ask the human. He was so curious about everything. Mostly, though, he just wanted to know that San was ok. He had used some healing magic on the human, but there was still always that chance it might not have worked.

The idea terrified Wooyoung, but he had faith in his abilities.

A small smile crossed his face and closed his eyes so he could work on falling asleep. "I'll see you soon."


	7. Chapter 7

San awoke the following morning to a light knock on the door. He groaned and draped his arm over his eyes to block out any light that was sure to follow.

And he was right. Light tried to break through the barrier seconds later and the bed next to him shifted. "Hey." Yeosang placed a hand on his leg. "How are you feeling?"

"Go away." San grumbled.

His friend snorted. "You must be feeling better. How's the side?"

"I don't know. Someone just woke me up." He sighed and went to sit up, making sure to move slow as he pushed himself off the bed. But something wasn't right...

Even the smallest of movements should have caused him some kind of discomfort. And yet... he sat up with no problem at all.

Yeosang gasped and immediately went to pull up San's shirt. "What the..."

San looked down and felt his eyes widen in shock.

All the bruising that had been there yesterday... was gone.

He pressed against his skin and there was still a little pain there, so something on the inside was still damaged, but it didn't hurt nearly as much as it should have.

"What..." Yeosang said, shaking his head. "I don't..."

"Me neither..." San looked up at his friend. He was starting to question his own sanity now. Had yesterday all been just a bad dream that Yeosang knew about as well? If that were true... then Wooyoung wasn't real either.

The thought of that concerned San even more than the fact that his side was magically healed. Which was ridiculous because he didn't even know the boy. Why should he care if he made up someone who was adorable, yet drop dead gorgeous at the same time? Of course Wooyoung would look perfect to him if he was a figment of San's imagination.

A scowl crossed his face and San flopped back down on the bed.

"What's wrong?" Yeosang leaned over, sounding panicked.

"He wasn't real, was he?" San said with a pout.

The older paused and opened his mouth in shock. "What?"

"Wooyoung. He wasn't real, was he? This all has to be a dream." San started absentmindedly running his hand over where his skin used to be ugly shades of purple and black.

"Wow." Yeosang stood up and moved away from the bed. "Are you that desperate that THAT'S what you're concerned about?" He started to laugh while clutching his stomach.

"Hey!" San sat up again and glared at his friend. "It's not like that!"

"It totally is! You should see how red your face is right now!"

San didn't know what was worse, the fact that there was some truth to Yeosang's statement and the fact that he hadn't slept with anyone in almost a year? Or the fact that Yeosang was getting so much joy from this that he was laughing this hard.

And Yeosang hardly ever laughed like this.

It made San scowl even more as he pushed himself out of bed and walked past his friend.

There were others in the kitchen who all stopped the second they saw him. San instantly forgot most of their names, but Chan did step forward and tilt his head a little. "San? How... Are you ok?"

"I'm fine." He grumbled, opening the fridge to try and get something to eat.

"How?" Jongho stepped forward from where he had been leaning against the counter. "You could barely walk yesterday!"

Laughing came from the hallway and they all turned to see Yeosang stumbling down it. "It's the m-magic of W-W-Wooyoung!" He fell to his knees and wrapped both arms around himself.

San kept his head in the fridge and tried really hard to not break something when the others chuckled as well.

"H-He cured him! All b-because he n-needs some d—"

San stood up and slammed the door shut. "Don't. Even. Think about it." He turned on Yeosang and pointed a finger at him.

The entire room burst into a fit of laughter, which sent San storming out back and onto the beach.

It was his own fault. San knew better than to voice things like that around Yeosang, but he couldn't help himself.

He plopped down in the sand and wrapped his arms around his knees. The regret he felt for agreeing to come on this trip started to bubble within him again. If he wasn't so easily manipulated by Yeosang, then none of this would have happened.

The ocean crashed against the sand in front of him, distracting him from his thoughts.

He had almost died yesterday... right there, in the very same water in front of him.

San's heart started to beat faster at the idea. He had almost died... and there was a chance that no one would have known. Yeosang would have been the only person to miss him too.

He shook his head slowly and ran his fingers through his messy blonde hair. They were shaking more than he'd like to admit as the realization sunk in even more.

He had almost died yesterday. And he had done absolutely nothing with his life...

Everything seemed to slow, or at least dull, for San as he thought about what a disappointment he had turned out to be.

"San?" A soft voice came from beside him.

His head shot up and he looked over to see the exact thing he thought he had imagined this entire time.

"Wooyoung? What..." San shook his head in disbelief. "What are you doing here?"

The boy bit his lip and shoved his bare toes into the sand in front of him. "You asked me if I would come back."

Still feeling dumbfounded, San shook his head and pushed himself off the sand. He noticed Wooyoung watching him carefully, his eyes flicking to San's side before returning to his face. There was a small shine to them that made San's heart beat hard against his chest. "Hi."

The cutest giggle came from Wooyoung and a wide smile crossed his face. "Hi. How are you feeling?"

"Honestly? I don't even know. I feel fine, but that shouldn't be possible..."

Wooyoung clasped his hands in front of him and tilted his head. "Anything is possible." He said quietly.

San paused once more. What on earth was going on? He took in Wooyoung one more time and noticed that he was wearing the same shirt San had given him yesterday. It was still inside out and now on backward. "Did you leave in a hurry this morning?"

"Huh?" Wooyoung tilted his head to the side in such a cute way that San had to press his lips together to keep from smiling.

"Your shirt. Well, my shirt. It's the same one I gave you yesterday. And you have it on wrong."

"Oh." Wooyoung's eyes grew wide and he started pulling the shirt off over his head. San hardly notice that Wooyoung had to study the shirt again before putting it back on. He was too distracted by Wooyoung's smooth, perfect skin and the abs that were now painfully obvious.

The thought that Yeosang was right poked at him from the back of his mind, but he quickly blocked it and looked down at the ground. "So... um, thank you again for yesterday." He smiled and saw a blush creep across Wooyoung cheeks. "This is sufficiently awkward, so how about we go and try to find something to eat?"

"I'd like that."

San bit his lower lip and jerked his head toward the house, indicating Wooyoung to follow him. When they entered the house thankfully a lot of Yeosang's friends had dispersed. Yeosang, however, was sitting at the kitchen table eating what looked to be pancakes.

"Hey." He older said, not looking up from his phone. "Are you done with your little tantrum? There's a stack on the stove."

"Great, I'm starving. Would you like some pancakes?" San asked, turning to Wooyoung.

The boy looked at him with wide eyes, almost as if he didn't know what pancakes were, but he didn't get the chance to say anything before Yeosang spoke. "I already have some numbnu— oh!" He finally looked over. "Wooyoung, you're back! Please, come sit down and I'll get you some food."

"Sangie..." San warned. He knew the teasing could start any minute now and he wanted to avoid that if at all possible.

Wooyoung, on the other hand, giggled and hurried over to the chair. "Thank you!" He looked around the room like he was fascinated with everything around him. Then he gasped what Yeosang set a plate of pancakes in front of him and an open bottle of syrup. "Wow..." He whispered before tearing off a piece of pancake with his hands and tossing it in his mouth.

San pressed his lips together and did his best to hold back any kind of laughter. "Do you not like syrup?" He asked after a moment.

Wooyoung paused with another piece halfway to his mouth and blinked a few times. "Syrup?"

"Yeah." San sat down next to him and pushed the bottle in his direction. He couldn't help but think how strange Wooyoung was being. Who didn't like syrup on their pancakes?

Slowly, while Yeosang started chatting about his plans for the day, which involved calling the tour company to complain, Wooyoung picked up the bottle of syrup and turned it over. The thick liquid poured out and started to drip down the sides of the pancakes quickly, all while Wooyoung's smile grew wider.

"Ooooookay I think that's enough." San said quickly when he noticed that Wooyoung's plate now had a small lake on the bottom of it.

"Sorry." Wooyoung shrank into his shoulders a little, then watched as San prepared his own plate and started to cut it with a fork. He slowly imitated him and then bounced in his seat at the first bite. "This is so good!"

Yeosang paused in the middle of his rant and laughed. "Thanks, I can't take credit for it though. One of the others made it before they left."

"Yeah, don't trust Yeosang's cooking. It'll likely kill you." San teased, earning a smack on the back of his head.

Wooyoung suddenly looked a little worried and watched Yeosang nervously, although he continued to shovel pancakes into his mouth.

"Anyway." Yeosang sighed. "It sounds like we are all just enjoying the day. You can come with me or stay here or whatever you like."

San pursed his lips. "What..." He cleared his throat and peeked at the boy who had saved his life. "What are you doing today Wooyoung?"

"Whatever you are." He answered with puffy cheeks and syrup dribbling down his chin.

San just shook his head and reached out with a napkin to help the boy and whispered, "I was hoping you'd say that."

"Get a room!" Yeosang shouted before walking out the front door.

Before San could yell back at him, Wooyoung tilted his head to the side. "What does he mean by that?"

That was when San knew Wooyoung had to have grown up pretty sheltered. He quickly grumbled something about Yeosang just teasing and started clearing the table. There was a pile to dishes already in the sink so he just added to them for now. "What's there to do around here?" San asked, glancing at where Wooyoung was now sucking on one of his fingers.

"Um. The ocean?"

"Yeah, let's avoid that for now. I'd rather not almost die again today." San shivered at the thought. "Is there any like arcades or movie theaters? Any tourist places?" The blank look on Wooyoung's face had San questioning so many things. "Do you live around here or are you just visiting too?"

"Visiting. Definitely just visiting. So let's go explore!" Wooyoung jumped up and grabbed San's hand and started dragging him to the door.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait! I still need to get ready for the day and everything." San pulled his hand away, although he really didn't want to. "Just hang out here and I'll go as fast as I can."

"Ok!" Wooyoung rocked back and forth and looked around the room again before walking over to a bookshelf in the corner.

San stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what to do about the strange boy. It was like he was shocked about everything around him. It made San wonder what kind of life he had. Part of him was intrigued. There was no denying that Wooyoung was attractive, but there was something about him that was just... off...

He would take today to feel things out and go from there, it wouldn't harm anything. San nodded and stepped back into the room he was sharing with Yeosang to change and freshen up.


	8. Chapter 8

The second San left the room, Wooyoung ran over to the wall to look at the strange thing there.

Someone had taken a piece of the ocean and frozen it. It was also protected by some kind of barrier because it was smooth when he reached out to touch it.

The even stranger thing was the fact that there were people frozen in a few other places in the house.

Wooyoung felt so lost and he knew he had more studying to do on human culture, but he was already worried that San was catching on. He needed to make sure he was careful from here on out.

But he wasn't sure he'd be able to with the way San made his heart thump. It was very distracting and made it hard for him to do anything else.

The sound of a door closing drew Wooyoung's attention and he hurried to stand in the middle of the room.

San came out with his hair still damp and Wooyoung felt his gut flip. Oh what he wouldn't give to see San in the ocean with him...

"So shall we go?" The human asked, offering a kind smile while motioning for the door.

"Yes please!" Wooyoung bounced forward and opened it so they could leave.

Even though he had just been outside not long ago, he felt so much better when the salty air started to fill his lungs. He ran forward and bit his lip when he felt the sand move between his toes. It was absolutely delightful.

San came to join him and looked down at Wooyoung's feet while arching an eyebrow. "Did you come over here without shoes?"

"Shoes?" Wooyoung asked, tilting his head. When he saw the questioning look on the human's face, he cleared his throat several times. "Oh, um, yes. I don't have any."

"You don't own shoes?"

"No?" Wooyoung could feel his eyes widening with his confusion. What were shoes? "Let's go!" He said quickly, and without thinking, he took San's hand and started pulling him down the stretch of sand toward the small town that had been built around the coast.

Instead of letting go like Wooyoung expected, San seemed to squeeze a little tighter and hurried to keep pace with him. "So before we do anything we need to look at getting you some shoes. Do you have any money?"

Once more Wooyoung had no idea what he was talking about, so he just shook his head no.

"It must be nice to not have to worry about these things." San said, shaking his head.

Wooyoung looked down at the ground and fell behind a little. He was trying so hard to not let his self doubt get he better of him, but it was hard not to hear the slight judging tone in San's voice. It made him want to tell San who he was, but there was no way he could. It was too dangerous...

"Come on, it looks like there's a thrift store over here. I suppose the least I can do is get you some shoes since you saved me." San looked over his shoulder and gave Wooyoung a kind smile.

For a moment Wooyoung wanted to ask him what he was talking about. He didn't need to do anything, anyone would have saved him... right?

But Wooyoung also had no idea what he was talking about and he didn't want to make a fool of himself by asking.

He studied the buildings in front of him and eye the people around him. It wasn't as loud as yesterday since there wasn't a large crowd, but Wooyoung still felt a little overwhelmed when he realized just how many people there were.

It made him move a little closer to San. He had no intention of getting separated.

And yet the second they stepped inside a building, Wooyoung couldn't help but let out a small gasp.

There was so much stuff!!

Wooyoung didn't even know where to start. His eyes were drawn to an area full of of something he did recognize.

San let out a small sound of surprise when he was suddenly yanked behind Wooyoung to a corner of the store. "So pretty!" Wooyoung practically shouted when he kneeled in front of shelves filled with jewelry. There was a barrier in front of them so he couldn't actually touch them, but he loved the unique designs.

"You like jewelry?" San leaned against the counter with an amused look on his face.

"Oh I do! It's how we— I... like to express myself sometimes." Wooyoung cringed but quilt tried to cover it up. "This one is pretty!" He pointed at a simple gold necklace that had a pendant consisting of pearls hanging at different lengths.

"Yeah, they're nice, but definitely expensive. It must be real." San muttered.

"Of course they are real. Why wouldn't they be?" Wooyoung looked up at him. "Are there fake pearls?"

San just snorted and shook his head. "Come on, the shoes are over here. Let's get you some before someone notices."

Wooyoung reluctantly followed San throughout the store. They had to make several stops when he came across something else that caught his attention. More than once San grabbed his wrist and kept pulling him along.

When they finally got to the shoes, Wooyoung grew even more excited when he realized it was something to put on his feet. At first he wanted to ask if his votes would be ok, but when he looked and saw everyone wearing shoes he knew better than to show his ignorance.

"Do you know what size you are?" San asked while studying the wall.

Instead of answering him, since Wooyoung had no idea what the human was talking about, Wooyoung just walked forward and picked a black pair of shoes off the rack that had a white section going down the middle of them.

He set them down and slipped his feet inside, causing the heels to fold over flat. They felt strange. Wooyoung wiggled his toes and puzzled over the constricted feeling.

"Do they feel weird?" San asked.

"No, I think they are ok." Wooyoung started walking around. He felt like he was walking funny now that he had the added weight on his feet, but at the same time, it was nice to have something protecting them.

Wooyoung watched with high interest as San gave the tag to another human behind some kind of machine and then gave her small pieces of paper.

Humans were strange creatures...

They ended up spending the next couple of hours just walking around and commenting on random things, which really consisted of Wooyoung getting overly excited about things and earning himself strange looks from San.

For not knowing each other well, Wooyoung couldn't help but feel relaxed around him. It was odd. He had only ever felt this around Yunho and Mingi. He didn't mind running ahead and bouncing in place while waiting for San to catch up.

There was one moment that had him freaking out a little. When they were walking down the street, Wooyoung had an awful feeling hit like he was going to burst. He must have made it look obvious, because San helped him locate what he called a bathroom.

His panic rose when San showed no sign of going in with him, so Wooyoung ducked inside and stared around for a long moment and all the objects on the wall. He saw another door he could go behind and stepped behind it, then called upon his magic for guidance.

A sense of calm filled him, even though he could also feel it draining his energy, as the magic searched for the answer.

Wooyoung's eyes flew open when he got it and he looked down between his legs. His mouth fell open a little and he had to take another moment to process.

Humans had... very strange bodies.

When he finished and was able to get ahold of his embarrassment, Wooyoung released his hold on the magic and swayed in place before going out to join San.

He also discovered this wonderful concoction San called ice cream. It had to be his favorite thing about the world above by far.

Besides San.

San was spectacular. Even though he gave strange looks, he never actually questioned Wooyoung's actions. It also helped that he was incredibly handsome. Wooyoung often found himself just watching the human and studying everything he did.

Although San did surprise him when they were sitting on the beach together watching people play in the water. "Where are you from?" He tilted his head to the side and a small twinkle entered his eyes. "What were you like as a kid?"

Wooyoung chuckled and stared back out at the water. Guilt filled him. He didn't like the idea of lying, but he knew it was necessary. "I guess you could say I haven't changed much. I was pretty adventurous and always getting in trouble as a kid."

"I bet your parents had fun with that." San chuckled and pulled one knee up to his chest.

The merman turned away and looked down at his own hands. "I wouldn't know." He whispered.

"What do you mean?"

"My parents died when I was very young. I don't even remember what they looked like. I was raised by my friend Mingi's family. So they would probably say I was a pain. But at least I had Mingi and Yunho."

"I'm sorry." San said gently. "I can't imagine what that must be like." He reached over and, after hesitating for a moment, took Wooyoung's hand. "Did Mingi's family take good care of you at least?"

Wooyoung glanced down at their joined hands and felt his cheeks heat up. "Yes, they took great care of me. I would be lost without them, and Yunho. He and Mingi took it upon themselves to raise me and protect me." He snorted and shook his head. "They became my damn guard dol— guards and now I have to sneak away if I want to get away."

"Are they somewhere around here?" San straightened up and looked around as if they would show up.

"No, there's no chance of them appearing. You're safe."

"Good, I don't need your guard dogs thinking I'm going to hurt you." A bright laugh left San as he rubbed the back of his neck.

The amazing sound had Wooyoung feeling brave and he leaned over so he was resting against San's side. He could feel the human tense for a moment, but then San slowly wrapped an arm around Wooyoung's shoulders. "Don't worry. The chances of you ever meeting them around incredibly small."

"Are they not here with you?"

"No, I came by myself. I needed to get away from... everything." Wooyoung felt his voice getting softer. "I was planning on just a quiet afternoon on my own. But I'm glad I met you."

"Met seems like an understatement, but... I'm glad too."

Wooyoung closed his eyes. Even though he knew this would never work, he was allowed to enjoy it, right? He could have his tiny moment to live in a fantasy.

"It's getting late." San whispered. "I'm sure Sangie is wondering where I am. I'm surprised he hasn't called me yet. Are you staying for dinner?"

"Dinner?"

"Yeah, I'm getting hungry." San moved to stand and held a hand out to help Wooyoung up.

The merman chewed on his lower lip and glanced out at the ocean. He knew he was pushing his luck if he stayed longer, but he really wasn't ready to leave yet.

"I would love to." He said, glancing back at San.

There was a strange, almost confused look that crossed San's face. Almost like he was questioning what was going on, but he didn't say anything about it so the two of them turned and started walking along the beach again. "I hope you're ready for chaos. Yeosang's friends seem like a crazy bunch. If it gets to be too much just let me know, ok?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine. I just want to stay with you for as long as I can." Wooyoung skipped ahead so he could stop San in his tracks. He clasped his hands behind his back and bent forward a little. "Is that ok with you?" Tilting his head to the side, Wooyoung giggled at the flustered look on San's face.

Then he turned and did something he hadn't done yet.

Wooyoung started to run down the beach.

The feeling of his legs moving like this and the sand squishing beneath this shoes, which flopped against his heels and started to fill with sand, was incredible.

He held his arms out wide and tossed his head back.

This is what he always wanted. This kind of freedom.

And Wooyoung was going to enjoy it for as long as he possibly could.


	9. Chapter 9

San watched in wonder as Wooyoung ran in front of him.

He still had no idea what to make of the stranger who had saved him, especially after spending the day with him.

Wooyoung was... odd... to put it kindly. He seemed almost lost, or like he wasn't given a lot of freedom growing up.

It hadn't gone unnoticed that Wooyoung had been confused and the way to excited to get a pair of shoes. And then he didn't even put them on right.

San made a mental note to ask Yeosang what he thought about things, he was usually pretty observant.

Although as soon as Wooyoung turned around to wait for him after running down the beach, San forgot all his worries. It didn't matter what kind of life Wooyoung had growing up. If he could smile like that now and still look at the world with child-like wonder, honestly that would be a gift more than anything.

It was something San wished he could still do.

"Sannie! Hurry up!" Wooyoung bounced in place and clapped his hands.

"I'm coming." San said, trying to hide the fact that he really liked it when Wooyoung called him that.

There was no questioning it. San liked Wooyoung. A lot.

Was it normal for someone to fall this quickly? He hardly even knew him.

And there was the matter that he was only here for the summer...

San's heart sank a little at the thought while shoving his hands in his pockets.

Wooyoung's smile remained contagious, though, and San couldn't help but smile back while the walked up the back steps to the house.

Inside Yeosang was pacing back and forth with a phone pressed to his ear while Chan, Jongho, and a few others watched him with amused looks.

"What's going on?" San asked.

Jongho's smile grew as his eyes followed their friend. "The tour company finally called back. Yeosang has been giving them hell for about thirty minutes now. He tried using you as more ammo but then he realized that you're fine now so there isn't much he can do with that."

"Ammo?" Wooyoung bent forward to look at Jongho.

"Yeah, um, if San was still injured then we could have filed for a lawsuit or something and they would have been in a lot of trouble. But now we can't really use that against them." Jongho shrugged and continued to watch Yeosang pace back and forth. He wasn't saying much, but his face was a shade of dark red.

Wooyoung's forehead creased with concern and he pushed his lips out in a small put. "So... San being healed is bad?" His voice was soft and quivered a little.

Both San and Jongho turned to look at him and San was horrified to see what he thought was tears starting to form. "No! No I'm very glad that I'm better!" Without thinking, San pulled Wooyoung to him.

The boy proceeded to tuck his nose into the crook of San's neck and held him tight.

San's eyes widened in shock and he gently rubbed Wooyoung's back. He glanced over at where Jongho was watching him with one eyebrow arched. The two of them just stared at each other without moving until Yeosang made a disgruntled sound that could be considered a yell of frustration.

"Those— Those— Those assholes!" Yeosang threw his phone on the couch and turned quickly to face the others, but then he froze. "What's wrong?!"

"Sounds like the new kid thought that San getting better was a bad thing." Chan shrugged before standing and stretching his arms above his head. "No luck?"

"No, they have no answers for me right now. They most they did was give us a refund on the tickets so that's something at least." Yeosang glared at his phone before turning back to give Wooyoung a concerned look. "It's nothing to be upset over though."

San tilted his head a little to glance at Wooyoung. His purple hair was slightly disheveled now and his eyes were closed, but he looked like he had calmed down a little. "We've had a busy day exploring." San said, still holding Wooyoung close to him.

He pursed his lips and shot a glare at Yeosang when his friend gave him a very amused look. "Well I will take a few moments to calm down and then we can talk about dinner."

"The boys and I were going to go surf for a bit. Don't wait up!" Chan waved over his head and left out the back door. He could be heard shouting in the distance and a few of their friends responding.

"Are you going to join them?" Yeosang turned to Jongho and bit the corner of his lip.

"Nah, I'm not feeling up to surfing tonight. I could get us setup to picnic on the beach though. Pizza?" Jongho looked around at the three of them.

"That sounds perfect." Yeosang clapped his hands a little, "And don't forget the chicken wings!"

A fond smile crossed Jongho's face as he pulled out his phone.

It looked like he had some ammunition of his own to use against Yeosang if he tried to tease him about Wooyoung.

"Come on, let's go get some blankets or towels." San rubbed Wooyoung's back and started shuffling toward the bedrooms. He smiled when Wooyoung grabbed his hand and followed him.

"Sannie?"

"Hmm?" San stopped in front of the linen closet and looked inside to see what the house had supplied.

"Um. Where's... the bathroom?"

San looked over his shoulder and saw the cutest, embarrassed look on Wooyoung's face. "Just over there, I'll be out back setting up." He turned back to the closest and grabbed several large beach towels.

Yeosang and Jongho were already gathering rocks to weigh down the towels. The older looked up and waved San over.

As they started setting up, Yeosang came over to stand next to San and gave him a curious look. "So you and Wooyoung... What's going on there?"

San sighed and crossed his arms. "What are you getting at?"

"I just want to know what's happening with you two. You seem awfully close already. And he seems..."

"Odd?" San glanced at the house and let his arms drop to his side.

"Well, I don't know if that's how I would describe it." Yeosang rubbed the back of his head. "But he does seem a little different. What do you know about him?"

"Not much." San admitted. "We were so busy exploring the town today. Do you think..." San dropped his voice when Jongho moved a little closer. "Do you think he could have been abused or something?"

His friend's forehead creased with concern. "What makes you think that?"

"He didn't have any shoes on when he came here, and he's wearing the same exact outfit."

Yeosang hummed and nodded his head a few times. "I suppose it's possible. We can keep an eye on him. But... what is your plan with him?"

San knew this question was coming... and he had no idea how to answer it. He looked toward the house and felt the confusion start to build within him.

A gently hand squeezed his shoulder. "Do you want my advise?" Yeosang asked. San looked at him and found himself appreciating the kindness he saw in his best friend's eyes. "Enjoy the time you have. Live a little and have a summer fling. But just keep it at that."

San swallowed the lump forming in his throat. He knew exactly what Yeosang was getting at, and he didn't know if he liked it.

"Have fun. But remember, the summer only lasts so long. Don't make it hard on yourself by getting attached." Yeosang gave him a knowing smile before walking over to help Jongho collect the food from the delivery driver that had just shown up.

For a moment, San just stood there and thought over everything. He knew Yeosang was right. He couldn't get too attached when he was going to be leaving in a couple of months. People had flings all the time, right? He could have his fun with Wooyoung and enjoy his summer of freedom before he had to return to the real world back home.

Seconds later, Wooyoung came stepping out the back door and San instantly felt so much lighter. He was happy with his decision and he was going to do whatever he could to have the best summer ever.

When Wooyoung found him, the boy smiled and ran over. "Is the food here? I'm hungry!" He rubbed his stomach and looked around.

"Yeah it just got here." San giggled and pulled Wooyoung behind him.

The group of four sat in a circle and piled the food in the middle so they all had access. Somehow the wings ended up in front of Yeosang, although San wasn't really surprised by this.

Jongho had ended up ordering four pizzas, claiming he wanted to make sure there was enough for the others, so they had a good variety to choose from.

For a moment, everything was fun and relaxed.

Until Wooyoung made a small sound of confusion while his eyes flicked between each of the pies.

"Are you ok Wooyoung?" Yeosang asked through a mouthful of chicken.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." Wooyoung put on a playful smile and hesitantly reached for the cheese pizza right in front of him.

San watched him slowly fold the slice like he had seen Jongho do early and bring it to his mouth. 

By now Yeosang was also watching him too. He quirked an eyebrow in a silent question and San knew they were thinking the same thing.

Wooyoung had never had pizza before.

It added to the puzzle that now made up the mysterious boy who had shown up in their lives, but San was now at the point where he would just enjoy how adorable it was.

Wooyoung's eyes lit up at the first bite and he let out a long hum of joy. "This is so good!" He bounced in place and took two more bites, humming some more while glancing at the ocean.

"Yeah, this has to be one of the best pizza's I've ever had!" Jongho agreed, also smiling while helping himself to another piece.

San and Yeosang glanced at each other and fought to contain their laugher. Jongho had completely missed what was going on, but that was ok. It wasn't anything that needed to be out in the open.

After all, they had no idea what Wooyoung's life was actually like. They were just speculating.

The next couple of hours passed by without much conversation. They were content with watching everyone else on the beach have fun. Yeosang and Jongho spent a lot of time cheering on their friends or laughing when one of them whipped out and fell into the water.

Wooyoung also seemed to enjoy watching the others surf. He would tilt his head to the side and watch them closely without blinking.

And San... San spent most of his time watching Wooyoung. He really did find the boy attractive, and he loved the shade of purple he had decided to dye his hair. His stomach twisted a little when he discovered the small mark on Wooyoung's lip and he found himself wanting to know what they tasted like.

A blush crept across his cheeks at the thought but if he was going to enjoy his summer, why not act on it?

Slowly, he leaned forward to whisper in Wooyoung's ear. "Would you like to go for a walk?"

Wooyoung jumped and looked at him with wide eyes but then nodded. "Ok. And then I should go." He glanced up at the sky and frowned a little.

San helped him up and laced their fingers together as the two of them started to walk down the beach.

The sand was soft between his toes and a slight breeze blew in the salty air.

"I had fun today." Wooyoung said after several long moments of peaceful silence.

"I did too." San glanced at him and was pleasantly surprised to see that Wooyoung was looking at him too.

"I should go soon... I'm expected back at home." Wooyoung stopped walking and turned to look at the water.

San hesitated and lifted Wooyoung's hand up to play with his fingers. "Do you have to?"

"I... Um... Yes?"

"You seem unsure." San said with a small smirk. He took a step closer and brought Wooyoung's hand a little higher.

Their eyes met and San could see the hesitation there, and while he thought Wooyoung being flustered was cute, he didn't want to pressure him too much.

"Will you come back tomorrow?" He asked instead.

"Yes."

San's lips quirked into a small smile and suddenly he found himself gently cupping Wooyoung's face and leaning forward to press their lips together.

Wooyoung tensed at the touch and didn't really respond to it too much, but San didn't read into it thinking he was just shocked.

He pulled back and rubbed Wooyoung's cheek with his thumb. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Y-Yes." Wooyoung sputtered and blinked several times. Then he turned and started walking down the beach.

San touched his lips with his fingers and beamed. He could still feel the connection. As he turned around to walk back to the house, he couldn't help but think about just how amazing this summer was going to be.

In fact, he thought it was going to be the best summer of his life.


	10. Chapter 10

Wooyoung could still feel San's lips on his as he started the long swim home. He kept lifting his hand up to run his fingers over them and the memory would flash in his mind.

He was almost thankful things ended when they did. As much as he had wanted it to continue, his skin had been starting to itch and he knew he had been running out of time.

It had taken longer for it to happen though, so he hoped that maybe he could stay in his human for longer if he got used to it and practiced.

The thing that was the most puzzling, though, was just the action as a whole. He didn't know what it is called, but it was something that merpeople had never done.

Wooyoung knew that it was his human body that liked the sensation, but even now he felt like he would like it if San did it again.

The merman smiled and gave a few hard flicks of his tail to speed up. It was getting late and he knew that Yunho was probably waiting for him again at the edge of the city. But Wooyoung didn't think even they could dampen his mood right now.

He and San had had a moment together! Something special that was shared with just the two of them. Plus, he had learned so much about the human world. Bathrooms were still odd and Wooyoung's mind strayed back to his discovery about human anatomy, but it just gave him motivation to do more research when he could.

Besides San, Wooyoung also loved that he had learned so much about human food. There were so many different flavors and textures available, it was incredible.

Wooyoung twisted his tail so he could spin in a tight spiral and started humming to himself, and he didn't stop, even when he saw a familiar shape sitting on a rock outside the city.

Yunho straightened up as soon as he saw Wooyoung.

The younger braced himself for another scolding. He slowed himself to a stop and saw that Yunho looked distressed. Surprisingly, the blue-tailed merman just let out a long sigh and shook his head before turning around and swimming back inside.

Wooyoung paused for a moment and then hung his head. He was definitely in trouble if Yunho wasn't even going to speak to him.

Which meant Mingi was going to unleash a different kind of furry.

He swam forward and followed the blue tail through the carved corridors and disappear through the seaweed in front of the room he shared with Mingi.

For a moment, Wooyoung debated going the other way and pretending he had never seen Yunho, but he wouldn't be able to get away with it. So he swam forward slowly and stopped right outside the arch. "Mingi?" He asked, his voice small and pathetic. Wooyoung closed his eyes and started playing with his own fingers.

Guilt was an awful thing...

The seaweed in front of him fluttered for a moment before it was drawn aside and Mingi appeared. His face was blank as he stared down at Wooyoung. The silence was deafening.

Wooyoung found his gaze drifting to the sand below him. "Mingi, I—"

"Just don't. It's obvious you don't care about our feelings, so do what you want. We aren't going to wait for you forever. If avoiding us is your way of giving us your answer then so be it." Mingi's throat bobbed as he swallowed. There was no anger or pain in his eyes. They were just dull.

Which hurt Wooyoung even more. He didn't want to hurt his friends like this...

"Good night, Wooyoung."

The dismissal was clear, although Wooyoung stayed in place for several minutes just watching the seaweed sway back and forth. He didn't want his friends to hate him but...

Slowly, he turned and swam back down the long hallways. He didn't feel like sleeping now. His mind was too active with worry, so he went back to his corner of the library and started pulling out his scrolls again.

The hours passed by slowly, and yet so fast at the same time. Before he knew it, Wooyoung could hear the workers of the palace rising for the morning to clean and prepare meals.

He let out a long yawn and pulled out another scroll. It would still be too early to return to the surface, so he would stay here for a little while longer and then sneak away. There was no point in going to talk to the others.

A few words on the scroll in front of him captured Wooyoung's attention. He readjusted himself, sending a small cloud of sand billowing in all directions, so he could lean a little closer. "A Study of Human Life. OH!" In his excitement he lifted himself off the sea floor a little and waited to settle back down before scanning the scroll.

A mermaid from several years ago had spent time as a human. She documented everything that she had observed. Wooyoung was guessing the scroll had been confiscated as soon as it was discovered, or once she was discovered, but merfolk believed in sharing knowledge so destroying something like this would almost be considered a crime.

Over the next several minutes, Wooyoung learned a lot more about what an average day looks like for a human. Three meals a day, clothes for weather, bathrooms, there was even observations on human relationships.

The mermaid had been fascinated by the way humans showed affection compared to merfolk. The biggest thing being kissing.

Wooyoung touched his lips when he realized that was what San had done last night.

Merfolk didn't do anything close to this. When a small pod of mates was formed, like Mingi and Yunho, they often created some form of matching jewelry to show they were spoken for. They would often connect foreheads while placing their hands on the back of the other's head and they would occasionally hold hands.

But overall, even though they had the upper body of a human, they were more closely related to the fish. The emotions Wooyoung had been feeling the past couple of days with San were something he was unfamiliar with.

Wooyoung jumped when something tiny brushed against his elbow.

He let out a small giggle when he saw two little, orange seahorses look up at him with their round eyes. Their tails twisted together for a second before they rose up to Wooyoung's eye level.

"Hi friends." He held up a finger and they both rubbed against it. "How did you get in here? Are you lost?"

They kept close to the merman as he rolled up the scroll and tucked it away. Then he held out his hands to form a little bowl to protect them. "Come on, let's get you back to the reef."

The small creatures shook with excitement and nuzzled against Wooyoung's fingers as he small out of the library. He held them close to his chest and nodded at anyone he passed. It was odd, he half expected someone to tell him where to find Mingi or Yunho, but no one mentioned it.

It had him chewing on his lower lip, but he had already told himself he wasn't going to worry about it today. If anything, he was almost contemplating just going to bed so he could get some sleep, but that would mean taking time away from San.

And he definitely wanted to see San again.

The seahorses peeked over his fingers when they started heading to the edge of the city. A large coral reef was situated there that the merpeople cherished and protected at all costs so that sea life could continue to thrive.

"Here you go, try not to wander off again, ok?" Wooyoung sank down and held his hands out so the seahorses could wrap their tails around some of the fan coral growing. They looked at him and extended their bodies to touch their noses to his fingers in a thank you.

It made the merman smile and he flipped over in a large circle to move away from the reef. A small school of yellow tangs swirled around him and he turned with them so he could watch them swim away.

Nearby, a large manta ray glided past while several smaller rays skimmed the bottom of the ocean.

It truly was a beautiful place to be, and Wooyoung loved it so much.

In his moment of distraction, Wooyoung found himself swimming to join the rays, reaching out to rub their slippery skin. He could feel a shiver of appreciation coming from them and a few even came up and rubbed against his tail.

Then in a flash, they were gone.

Wooyoung could feel the change in energy and stopped so he could turn in a slow circle.

There was only one reason why the fish would disperse like they did.

A shark, or sharks, was nearby.

It wasn't something Wooyoung was necessarily scared about. Sharks were a vital part of the echo system and they were just predators that needed to eat. But they were known to occasionally get lost in their hunger and had attacked merpeople before. 

He saw it a few moments later swimming over the coral reef.

It was a tiger shark, and a female, which meant it was even larger.

Wooyoung estimated that it had to be at least four meters long. He eyed it nervously, knowing he needed to stay calm but also be ready to swim away at a moments notice. The one curious thing he saw was an object floating by the shark's dorsal fin. It bobbed up and down in the water next to him.

The shark twisted to look at him and it flicked it's tail.

"Hi there. I'm going to just swim away now." Wooyoung gently moved his tail back and forth so he could start swimming for the surface.

That was the wrong move.

The shark darted forward and opened his jaws wide.

Wooyoung sucked in a breath and used his powerful tail to rocket forward. If this was going to turn into one of these moments, then he knew he needed to focus and get away as fast as he could. Tiger sharks were one of the few sharks that could actually catch him if he let his concentration slip.

His heart started to race as he tried to think of a spell he could use to help him, but there was no way he could pull on the magic now. He needed to be able to stop and focus on it and that just wasn't possible.

The shark tailed him closely, matching each twist and turn.

And it was herding him away from the city too, so there was no way Wooyoung could call for help.

In a moment of panic, the only thing he could think of was getting to the surface. If he could get into shallow water and pull himself up on the beach then he should be safe.

When he got closer to familiar waters, Wooyoung tried to put on another burst of speed. He was surprised the shark was still tailing him. Usually they would have dropped off by now. She must be having a hard time getting enough to eat...

Wooyoung noticed a few humans in the water ahead of him and turned sharply to the side to find an area along the beach where he wouldn't be seen.

Then a searing pain shot through his tail and Wooyoung screamed. He twisted around and pulled his tail to the side when the shark tried to readjust his grip. Blood filled the water, sending the shark into a crazed frenzy.

In a matter of seconds, Wooyoung found himself trying to twist around the shark to avoid its jaws. He managed to swim underneath her and held onto her sides. The confusion coming from the tiger shark was what he needed as she tried to figure out how to get to him.

Wooyoung muttered a few words under his breath and drew from the magic within him to immobilize the shark. It wouldn't last for long, and he didn't want it to because he didn't want to kill her, but it gave him just enough time to start swimming toward the surface and an empty stretch of beach while praying he didn't attract anything else with the trail of blood behind him...


	11. Chapter 11

Wooyoung felt his strength fading the closer he got to shore. Time was running up on his immobilization spell and so the tiger shark would catch up to him. As long as something else didn't catch him first.

He did his best to keep an eye on his surroundings so that nothing surprised him as he started to use his arms to help pull him through the water.

The sea floor started to slope upwards and Wooyoung also started to pay attention to the surface. From what he could see, there were no humans in the immediate area.

This was his chance.

Wooyoung flicked his tail harder, wincing at the pain coming from the bite that had managed to pierce his scales.

When the water was shallow enough, Wooyoung did his best to call upon his magic once more so that he could transform. He made sure to envision a different outfit this time, remembering San's confusion when he had shown up wearing the same thing two days in a row.

This time was a pair of jean shorts and a white sleeveless shirt.

A scream erupted from his throat the moment Wooyoung broke the surface. He flailed his arms to help move his heavy body forward and immediately noticed he only had the use of one leg.

After a few more agonizing minutes, the merman was able to drag himself up on the beach without any further attacks. He took that as one positive, but his heart instantly sank when he took in the fact that the bottom half of his right leg had the very obvious half moon bite mark on both the top and the bottom.

Thankfully the shark hadn't had a chance to lock on hard enough to rip away a chunk of his fin, otherwise Wooyoung had no idea what shape he'd be in right now.

Several whimpers escaped him while he pulled himself further up on the beach using just his arms. He couldn't even wiggle his toes on his right leg...

"Bursting bubbles..." Wooyoung muttered. He bit his lip and slowly leaned forward and touched the bloody skin on his leg. There was no way this was going to heal, not with the amount of blood that was staining the sand below him.

It would be easy for him to heal himself... incredibly easy... but immobilizing the shark and transforming had already used so much magic, if he were to use more he risked wearing himself out to the point where he could put himself in danger. Or worse, it could start to drain his very life force.

But there was no way he was going to survive this wound either.

So Wooyoung took a deep breath and started to run his hands up and down his wounded leg. It stung, but once his hands started glowing blue, the magic instantly soothed the pain and he started to patch his delicate human skin back together.

The seconds ticked by, and as each one passed, he could feel his eyelids drooping a little bit more. Wooyoung did his best to keep them open so he could watch the progress. He didn't think he'd have enough energy to heal it entirely, but he needed to at least get the bleeding to stop.

It took several more minutes, but once all that was left was some scarring Wooyoung released the magic and collapsed back onto the sand.

Breathing was a struggle for him while he tried to regain control over his body.

Mingi was not going to be happy about this once he found out. If a tiger shark was hungry enough to attack him then their food source could be in trouble. They would have to send out some scouts to monitor their population and check on the other breeds around the area.

It was rare that a great white was seen around Aquatis, but it would be the only thing that could give the female tiger shark any competition.

Wooyoung groaned and let his left arm drape over his eyes to block out the sun. This isn't what he needed right now. If Aquatis was going to start having a shark issue then he could see one of two things happening. Either Mingi would start sending him out on patrols and expect updates, or he would keep Wooyoung contained to the palace walls with a guard detail to make sure he didn't wander off and get hurt since Mingi knew he was such a free spirit.

Both of which would limit his time with San.

The merman started to pout when his head throbbed.

Why did everything have to be so complicated?

His thoughts of San drove him to work on pushing himself off the ground. Both his arms and legs shook from the strain, but the natural magic coursing through his blood would help with the fatigue as long as he didn't use anymore magic. He'd need to be extra careful today.

Once he felt steady, Wooyoung walked along the beach in the direction he knew the public beach was. The shark chase had put him further south than he'd like, but the walking was nice. It helped get his blood pumping through his body, which in turned kept the magic flowing too.

Wooyoung looked down at his feet and smiled at the shoes that San had bought him. It was odd having his toes constricted and he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He paused for just a moment to slip them off and pick them up.

The feeling of sand between his toes was even weirder, but Wooyoung just added it to the list of fascinating things about humans.

About thirty minutes later, Wooyoung could hear the chaos of humans on the beach. He walked through a large group of kids building sand castles and parents lounging on large towels underneath large round objects on a stick that blocked the sun.

He watched as they would pull out food from containers and pass it between them. It was then that he realized just how hungry he was, and it was amplified even more by the use of so much magic.

With this thought on his mind, Wooyoung started walking faster until he found the house San was staying in.

He walked up the back stairs, then paused. He wasn't used to doors blocking entrances and he wasn't sure how to proceed.

Thankfully he didn't need to figure it out because someone opened the door and paused with surprise. "Oh! Hello." He was a shorter man with light blonde hair and round eyes. "Can I help you?"

"Um, yes... Is San here?"

"You're Wooyoung, aren't you?" The boy flashed a wide smile. "We haven't met yet! I'm Hwanwoong. I'm in class with Yeosang."

"Babe, who are you talking to?" A taller boy came up behind Hwanwoong and placed hand on his shoulder. He had a kind smile. "Hello."

"This is Wooyoung! He's here for San." Hwanwoong wiggled his eyebrows and stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth. "He's in his room, I'm pretty sure he's still sleeping. You'll be a nice wake up surprise for him."

The taller boy shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Excuse him. But he's right, San is just in his room. Everyone else has left for the day. I'm Youngjo, by the way. Our number is on a note in the kitchen, just call us if you need anything!" Youngjo took Hwanwoong's hand, not noticing the look of utter confusion on Wooyoung's face.

He watched them run down the beach, still holding hands, until they dove under the surface of the water. His first instinct was to run after them and tell them about the shark, but then he remembered that in this area Mingi had a patrol in place to help protect the humans and herd sharks toward natural feeding areas.

So he turned around and walked further into the house and let the door close behind him. Once he got to San's room, he stepped inside and smiled when he saw San sprawled out on his bed, shirtless, with one arm wrapped around something large and brown. It looked really soft, like the moss he used to cover his bed.

Wooyoung walked over to the bed and gently moved to lay down next to San. The human's left arm was hanging off the side, so Wooyoung let his head rest gently on his shoulder and wiggled in a little closer. Then he just watched San sleep.

The human would move his slips occasionally, pushing them out a little then smacking them together while rocking his head back and forth.

Carefully, Wooyoung lifted a hand to start tracing the lines of San's chest. He would make one attractive merman. Wooyoung started to wonder what color San's tail would be and how amazing it would be to swim through the colorful coral reefs together.

Why did he have to grow so attached to a human? There was no way they were going to make this work... How could they?

An overwhelming sense of despair started to fill him, and Wooyoung was just about to slip out of bed and leave when San stirred and lifted his arm up to wrap it around him. "Hey." He said with a voice still heavy and husky from sleep.

Wooyoung was dragged back in instantly and he knew he wouldn't have the strength to leave. "Hi."

"How long have you been here?"

"Not long. I met Hwanwoong and Youngjo, they let me in." Wooyoung glanced up and San and saw him watching his finger still moving along his chest. He was tempted to stop, but San didn't seem to mind so he kept going.

"Well this was a wonderful surprise." San smiled and rolled into his side. "So what would you like to do today?"

"Anything." They locked eyes and Wooyoung had to work really hard not to let his eyes wander down to San's lips.

"That could be a dangerous statement, Wooyoungie." San whispered.

Confused, the merman was about to ask why when San extended his neck and pressed their lips together. It was slow and sensual and had Wooyoung feeling all warm and tingly. He let out a small whimper and pressed his body closer to San's wanting to feel more of him.

He could feel the warmth of the human's body against his and then shivered when San threaded his fingers through the back of his hair.

"How about we just stay in today?" San whispered after a few minutes of the slow kissing. "We can make some snacks and watch a movie?"

Wooyoung's mind was in too much of a haze to realize he had no idea what San was talking about. He found himself nodding along and knew he would agree with anything San wanted him to do.

The couple moved off the bed and Wooyoung shadowed San while going into the kitchen and watched while he pulled out several packages that Wooyoung assumed had food in them. Then he pulled Wooyoung over to an object he had heard them call a couch and they sat on it after San laid out everything on the table in front of them.

"What kind of movie do you like?" San asked. He bent forward and picked up a small but long object.

"Um, a-anything really." Wooyoung started to play with the hem of his shirt as his nerves rose.

"Well we can see what we have." San just shrugged and pointed the object in front of him.

Wooyoung jumped with a box on the other side of the room flashed and then he watched with an open mouth when tiny people inside it started to move. It was baffling. Were they trapped in the box? He leaned forward and watched as a man passed a ball to a young boy, then then it changed to two small animals running through something Wooyoung knew was called grass.

Then words appeared and started to move on the tv that Wooyoung didn't understand. A yellow box moved with them and San started mumbling things under his breath.

He could hear voices coming from the box too, and Wooyoung felt the urge to run forward and try to open it to free the voices. It was obvious that they were human, but did humans really get that small?

"Oh! This is a good one!" San san. He set the thing in his hand down and then pulled Wooyoung into his side while settling into the couch. "Have you seen this one before?"

Wooyoung felt the blush creeping onto his face as he looked at the box and watched several colorful fish swimming around. They didn't look like real fish, they were an odd texture and their eyes were wrong... that and they were talking like humans. He had also never seen a clownfish and regal tang interact like this. It was unsettling and Wooyoung didn't know what to think about it, so he just shook his head.

"Huh, it was pretty popular when we were growing up. I'm surprised. It's the time of day that all the kid shows are on, the better movies will happen later today." San started rubbing his hand up and down Wooyoung's arm.

The motion was comforting and Wooyoung could feel himself relaxing. He focused on the sensation of San's fingers and that allowed himself to enjoy whatever was happening on the box in front of him. The regal tang said a few funny things and there were some other colorful characters that Wooyoung enjoyed seeing.

At one point, San pulled the table closer and then pushed on Wooyoung's shoulder to guide him so that he was laying down. His head hit something soft that San had placed over his legs and San's fingers were instantly in his hair.

It was one of the most pleasant feeling he had ever experienced. Wooyoung hummed gratefully and nuzzled against the soft object.

San chuckled and wrapped his other arm around the merman's stomach. "This is nice."

Wooyoung turned to lie on his back and smiled up at the human. "Yeah it is."

"You'll stay all day?"

"Yes."

"Good." San smirked and glanced up again to watch the movie.

Wooyoung spent a long time looking up at him before he turned his head. If this was what humans did together, he knew he was missing out on so much. Merfolk never laid together except at night to sleep. There was always something that needed to be done.

Mingi and Yunho were always checking on things for the kingdom and Wooyoung usually had some kind of assignment to do too, unless he was exploring. Other merfolk would harvest food and tend to the variety of gardens they had, including clams, mussels, and oysters. The kelp forests needed a lot of care too.

Wooyoung felt his thoughts drifting when he wondered if there was a way he could stay with San. Or if he could just stay human. There was so much to experience in this world and Wooyoung wanted to know everything.


	12. Chapter 12

San's mind had a hard time staying focused on the movies after they were about halfway into the second one. He was too easily distracted by how intrigued Wooyoung was by everything that happened on the screen.

It was like a child on Christmas. Each new thing had Wooyoung gasping or squirming in place as he tried to process what was going on with the movie.

There were a few times that San could see he wanted to ask a question, but then he would press his lips together and swallow, like he was trying to hide the question deep within him.

He once again found himself wondering how sheltered Wooyoung was as a child. And this led to other thoughts that had him feeling a little nervous about his intentions. He didn't want to push anything on Wooyoung, but these past few days... San felt a rush of heat run through him at the idea.

At one point, Wooyoung sat up and tilted his head to the side when the main couple of the movie started to kiss. They were at the guy's apartment, so after a few minutes, things started to heat up a little. It was set sorted for tv, but it was obvious what they were doing.

Wooyoung's forehead scrunched up the tiniest bit and he opened his mouth a little.

"Youngie?" San leaned forward and bit his lip. "What's the matter?"

The other boy hesitated for a moment then looked at San. "Is that what we are supposed to do?"

It was such an odd way to word the question, San found himself stumbling over an answer for a moment. "I— Well, I mean— Only if—" He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor. "I'd like to eventually, yeah. You've never... You're..." San huffed and closed his eyes. "You're still a virgin, aren't you?" He peeked up at Wooyoung and saw what looked to be confusion flash across his eyes. "It's ok if you are!" San straightened up and started waving his hands back and forth. "I just know it's going to be different fo you if it's your first time."

"Oh! Oh, yes, it would be my first time." Wooyoung answered quickly. He turned back to the tv and tilted his head once more. The couple was covered by the blankets not he bed and had their legs twisted together at the end of the bed.

Yeosang's words about a summer fling started to ring in his ears and San found himself shifting in place a little at the thought of hearing Wooyoung's pretty voice crying out in pleasure.

San bit his lip and counted to three before deciding to take the plunge. "Would you like to? Do that, I mean?"

Wooyoung looked at him for a long moment, then gave the slightest of nods.

San immediately stood up and grabbed his hand before rushing off to the bedroom. He made sure to lock the door behind them just in case, but he had faith that they had plenty of time. Yeosang had dropped several hints that he would keep everyone away from the house until dinner time.

As soon as the door was closed and San had closed the curtains, he turned around to see Wooyoung looking around the room and shifting nervously in place. He stepped forward and took to boy's hands, giving them a gentle squeeze. "If it gets to be too much, just tell me to stop, ok?"

Once more, Wooyoung just nodded, but then his eyes drifted down to San's lips. That was all he needed to close the gap between them and press their lips together. He tried to keep the kiss slow and sensual, but once Wooyoung let out a little moan, San couldn't hold back anymore.

He laced his fingers through the back of Wooyoung's purple locks and held his mouth in place so that he could take control of the kiss. His tongue darted out and ran across Wooyoung's lips, making him gasp a little, which San took full advantage of and let his tongue slip in side.

It was odd, though, because Wooyoung held the faint taste of salt. It made San hesitate for just a moment, but then he quickly found himself addicted to it and started pushing Wooyoung back until he was pushed up against the wall.

Wooyoung grabbed the front of San's shirt and tried to pull him even closer, getting into the kiss and tilting his head to the side.

Feeling encouraged, San dipped a hand down to lip it under Wooyoung's shirt to feel his perfectly smooth skin. They both shivered at the intimate touch and San broke the kiss to start placing open mouth and sloppy kisses along Wooyoung's jaw.

He could feel his lust and desire taking over, and as long as Wooyoung didn't tell him to stop, he had no intention of slowing down.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung felt so overwhelmed. He wasn't quite sure how to process what was going on, but he did know one thing.

He liked it.

He liked it a lot and he found himself feeling things he didn't think was ever possible. Or, it was something he had never thought possible. No merman or woman had ever talked about this feeling... this fire... he was feeling in the pit of his stomach.

When San started to kiss along his neck, it sent chills through Wooyoung's entire body and he shivered while letting out a small whine. "San..."

The human nipped at his neck at the sound of his name and Wooyoung gasped. At first he wanted to slap a hand to his neck to protect his gills, but then he remembered he didn't have any in this form and tilted his head further to the side so San could do it again.

"Fuck, you are so damn sexy." San mumbled, still peppering Wooyoung's neck with nips just soft enough to not leave any marks.

Wooyoung fought the urge to ask what sexy meant and started fumbling with San's shirt. Whatever he was feeling... the urge to feel San's chest against his own was driving him crazy. It was the one sensation his body was used to feeling and as soon as they were both shirtless, Wooyoung pulled San to him and returned the favor by picking the soft spot of San's neck and nibbling at it. He kept it soft and very tentative, but he must have done something right because San dug his nails into Wooyoung's shoulders and let out a small whine.

Seconds later, the couple was fumbling toward the bed. San worked to start pulling down his pants and Wooyoung found himself watched with intense curiosity.

Why did humans even wear clothes if all they did was take them off?

San paused once he was fully undressed and Wooyoung noticed that he was slowly himself between his legs. So many questions started flying through Wooyoung's mind and he had to fight the urge to ask them.

He needed to trust San and follow his lead. Whatever this was... it was obviously important and something humans did often.

San tilted his head to the side a little and Wooyoung realized it was his turn to undress. He started fumbling with his pants and worked to pull them down. When San's eyebrows rose in surprise, Wooyoung instantly started to worry that he had done something wrong and bit his lip.

"Wow, going commando, I didn't realize you were into those kinds of things." San smirked.

"Oh, um, yeah, you know..." Wooyoung rubbed the back of his head and suddenly felt his confidence leaving him. He started to doubt even doing whatever this was with San and he found himself taking a step back.

"Hey, it's ok." San said gently. "I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I find it really hot actually." He stepped forward and placed a hand on the back of Wooyoung's neck to pull him closer. "You look amazing." He added in a whisper.

Wooyoung found himself getting lost in San's deep, brown eyes and wasn't paying attention to anything else until he felt San's fingers start to tease him between his legs. As soon as that happen, Wooyoung gasped and jumped in place.

San immediately wrapped his fingers entirely around him while swallowing the yelp with another kiss.

It was such an overwhelming feeling that Wooyoung didn't quite know how to process it. His entire body felt alive and he found himself wanting even more.

Then he found himself falling back underneath the pressure given from San and his back slammed into the bed. He didn't get much time to react before San was on top of him. The human used his weight to pin Wooyoung down and immediately claim his lips again.

San's hand continued to work back and forth, sending stars across Wooyoung's eyes and he started running his hands down San's back.

Whatever this was... it just added to the joy of being a human because he was pretty sure nothing could compare to this.

.

.

.

.

San had to work hard to keep himself under control. Every time Wooyoung reacted to something he did, it just drove in even harder that Wooyoung was a virgin, and San didn't want to ruin this experience for him.

He was always waiting for Wooyoung to tell him to stop, but pretty soon he was trembling under San's every touch.

A thin layer of sweat had started to coat Wooyoung's skin, making him look delectable in the soft light coming through the curtains.

After a few more strokes, San shifted so that he could arch his neck and start running his tongue around Wooyoung's left nipple. The small whimpers that started to leave the boy beneath him were driving San crazy. It spurred him on to start grinding their hips together.

"S-S-San..." Wooyoung whined. He kept scrunching his face up like he was trying to figure out what was going on.

"It's ok, I've got you." San whispered and started kissing Wooyoung's cheeks when he noticed a few tears slipping from his eyes. "I promise it's going to get better."

He pushed himself up to study Wooyoung's face and used his other hand to gently stroke Wooyoung's cheek. Wooyoung swallowed and took a deep breath before nodding a few times. His wide eyes were filled with hesitation and curiosity and San found himself becoming bewitched.

Once he was able to collect himself again, San worked on repositioning them on the bed so that Wooyoung could lay his head down on the pillows and San could spread the boy's legs wide to kneel between them after grabbing the bottle of lube Yeosang had not so subtly left on his end table.

"Alright, I'm going to take the lead this time, and you need to try and relax for me." He said, rubbing Wooyoung's thighs gently. Then his eyes drifted down to the white marks on Wooyoung's leg and he stared at them for a moment before making a mental note to ask Wooyoung about them later. He started rubbing Wooyoung's thighs once more to reassure him that everything was ok.

"Ok, Sannie." Wooyoung said, his voice hesitant, but it almost held a sensual purr to it that went straight to San's length and made it twitch.

The snap of the lid when San opened the lube made Wooyoung jump and San chuckled. "I said relax."

Wooyoung blushed and bit his lip.

"Cute." San said, trying to distract him a little more as he poured a large glob of lube right onto Wooyoung's length.

"Mother Ata!" Wooyoung cried out before slapping a hand over his mouth and arching his back off the bed.

San tilted his head at the weird exclamation, but he didn't want to lose his momentum so he started stroking Wooyoung at a quick pace while using his other hand to gather up some of the extra lube and started circling around Wooyoung's entrance.

He watched as Wooyoung's eyes grew wide and he moaned into his hand when San slipped his finger inside.

San knew he needed to take things slow, but that didn't stop him from twisting his finger back and forth to find the special bundle of nerves that he knew would have Wooyoung screaming even more.

After a moment, Wooyoung dropped his hand from his mouth and fisted the blanket on either side of him. He arched his back off the bed and started mumbling incoherently.

The overstimulation was working. San was able to slip a second finger in without much reaction from Wooyoung, and it didn't take too much longer before he could slip in a third.

San licked his lips, anxious to feel how tight Wooyoung would feel around him.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung's mind was churning. Pert of him wanted to say that nothing should be going in him like this. It felt unnatural. The only time anything like this happened for merfolk was when they were able to breed, but that's all it was for... there was nothing special about it.

This though, Wooyoung couldn't fully grasp what was going on. But he knew that his vision went white and then black when San crooked his fingers in just the right way.

At one point, he almost wanted to beg San to stop. His body felt weird and tingly. It was something he wasn't used to.

But the look that San gave him and the encouraging words helped him trust San.

He watched as San started stroking himself again and then slipped something on that looked like a second layer of skin.

"Ok, are you ready?" San asked while inserting his fingers into Wooyoung again. He twisted them back and forth gently.

Wooyoung wasn't sure how to respond to that, so he just nodded.

San moved forward and slowly started to push himself inside. The stretch had Wooyoung arching his back once more and scrambling for something to hold on to. San helped with that and grabbed into his hands and pulled them together while he finished sliding in all the way.

As strange as this moment was for him, Wooyoung could understand why humans liked it so much. There was a feeling of connection now that their two bodies were combined as one and San moving to kiss him again made it even better.

And then when San started thrusting in and out of him, Wooyoung let out a long moan. It was muffled by San's tongue in his mouth, but he just couldn't stop.

San managed to hit this one spot inside him every time that had this feeling building up inside Wooyoung, a pressure that he could feel himself building toward.

"God, Wooyoung, you're so tight. You feel so good." San grunted after dropping his to rest on Wooyoung's shoulders.

Then he reached down to grab Wooyoung's legs and lifted them up so that he was almost bent in half. It put Wooyoung in a vulnerable position that he wasn't sure if he liked, but Wooyoung was in no position to argue with it now.

Mostly because he couldn't hold back anymore and was crying out each time San thrust into him.

The fell into a rhythm of grunts and whines for several minutes, but there was one thrust that made Wooyoung just explode. He practically screamed as a white liquid came out of him and fell across his stomach and even dribbled onto his neck and chin.

He started to whimper when San kept going, the overwhelming feeling starting to get to be too much, but after only a few more thrusts San stopped and Wooyoung could feel him pulsing inside him.

San let out a long groan and was panting heavily. His hair was matted and clung to his forehead in a way that was incredibly attractive. 

When they both caught their breath, San eased Wooyoung back onto the bed and slipped out of him. He ran to the other room and came back with something that he used to clean him off.

"Are you ok?" San asked after he pulled something soft over them and wrapped his arms around the merman.

Wooyoung wasn't sure how he should answer. But he was confident when he said, "Yes." His voice cracked and San let out a deep chuckle. "I feel... floaty." It was the best word he could find to describe it because he did almost feel like he was just floating on his is back and allowing the current to take him wherever it wished.

"Floaty is good. It wasn't too much for your first time, was it?" San started to card his fingers through Wooyoung's hair and he let out a grateful hum.

"No, can we do it again sometime?" He tilted his head back and saw a slightly shocked look on the humans face.

"Most definitely." San answered quickly before drawing Wooyoung in for a slow, passionate kiss.

This had to be one of Wooyoung's favorite things as a human. He liked the feeling of kissing. It was special, that much he could tell.

And he liked feeling special, especially with the way San was looking at him.

The pair of them nestled into the bed and and for the first time Wooyoung fell asleep next to someone. It felt right in every single way and he understood why Mingi and Yunho enjoyed it so much. But there was something about the physical contact that humans craved that made it even better.


	13. Chapter 13

When he woke up a few hours later, San felt a little disoriented. He had a hard time even opening his eyes and a long yawn seemed to capture his body for a moment. But then a soft moan came from next to him and he tilted his head to see Wooyoung nestled into his side.

He lifted a hand up to gently tease Wooyoung's soft purple hair for a few minutes and just enjoyed the moment.

Then he heard movement in the main part of the house and pressed his lips together, instantly regretting falling asleep.

By now the others had to know what was going on since Yeosang wouldn't be able to get into his own room. The teasing was going to be awful, but maybe they'd at least wait until Wooyoung left. He didn't need them chasing the boy away, especially after what just happened.

"Wooyoung?" San whispered, shaking him by the shoulder. "Wooyoung?"

A soft moan answered him, followed by Wooyoung's eyelids fluttering open. He sat up quickly and looked around with wide eyes.

"Hey, it's ok, you're still with me." San said, sitting up as well when he realized Wooyoung wasn't fully registering where he was.

"San? Wha- Ah!" Wooyoung hissed and rotated onto his side while looking down at his legs.

"Fuck. Sorry, I was worried I went a little hard." He started to fuss over Wooyoung and make sure he was in a position that was comfortable. This is what he got for letting his horny side take control. "Are you ok?"

Wooyoung nodded and bit his lip. "Yeah, I've just never felt anything like this before."

San chuckled and ruffled Wooyoung's hair. "Well yeah, that's part of what comes with your first time." He hesitated and started to pick at nothing on the sheets below him. "Did... Did you like it?" Why was he suddenly feeling so self conscious? It's not like it should matter all that much.

"I did." He looked up to see Wooyoung blushing and giving a shy smile. "I liked it a lot."

San felt his chest puff out a little as he leaned forward to kiss Wooyoung again, now loving the way he always seemed to have the faintest taste of sea salt to him.

They sat there for a long moment before regrettably having to pull apart when the noise in the rest of the house grew louder.

"Just ignore what they say, ok? I'm sure they are going to get a kick out of teasing us so... I'm sorry."

"Why would they tease us?" Wooyoung tilted his head slightly.

San let out a breathy laugh and finally slipped out of bed. "If you don't know then maybe it won't bother you. Come on, I'm sure they are wondering where we are."

The couple took their time getting dressed, mostly because Wooyoung was really shaky standing on his own, then slowly made their way into the main living space.

Everyone was there already, most gathered closer to the kitchen where Chan and Jongho were cooking together. There were a few people San hadn't been introduced to yet, which made San want to turn around and go back into hiding. Since when did Yeosang have so many friends, or friends of friends?

"San!" Yeosang poked his head up from where he was sitting at the kitchen table. "You're just in time for dinner." He stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth and quirked an eyebrow before turning back to continue his conversation with Youngjo.

A few other eyes watched them as San led Wooyoung over to the couch and the two of the sat together while trying their hardest to ignore the others.

It was then that San remembered the marks on Wooyoung's leg. He leaned over and grabbed Wooyoung's leg to hold it up and examine it. "What happened to you?"

"O-Oh, it's..."

"It looks like a shark bite!" Felix suddenly appeared and was bending over to look at the white marks. He tilted his head to the side and poked at where the skin was slightly indented.

Something clattered in the kitchen and Chan also came running over. "No way! You survived a shark bite?"

"Guys, back off!" San said when he noticed that Wooyoung was starting to look a little flustered. He could feel his anger level starting to rise as he tried to push the others away.

Neither one did, however, and started directing a million questions at Wooyoung. The boy started scratching nervously at his arms and looked to San for help.

"Alright." San growled. He stood and pushed the other two back before pulling Wooyoung from the couch and rushing out the back door and down to the beach. "Idiots!"

Wooyoung dutifully followed him and stayed by his side while they kept walking. "Thank you." He said quietly.

San turned around and noticed that Wooyoung was still scratching his arm with his free hand. "Are you ok?"

"Huh?" Wooyoung's head snapped up and then he stopped scratching. "Um, yeah. That was just a lot."

"Trust me, it was for me too." San shook his head and let out a long sigh. "Do you want to go somewhere else to eat?"

Wooyoung twisted his lips to the side and glanced out at the ocean. Then his started scratching his arm once more. "I should probably get going, even though I really don't want to."

"I don't want you to go either."

"Today was... amazing. I can't think of another way to describe it."

San couldn't help but smirk a little and he reached a hand up to run it through Wooyoung's hair, tucking a few loose strands behind his ear. "I feel the same way. Just promise me the morons inside didn't scare you away and I'll see you again?"

The giggle that left Wooyoung warmed San's heart and he immediately pulled Wooyoung into a hug. "Yes you'll see me again." Wooyoung whispered into San's neck.

"Good." San kissed the side of his head. "Have a good night and get some rest."

Wooyoung nodded his head and San watched him walk down the beach until he disappeared from sight before shoving his hands in his pockets and marching back up to the house.

Everyone fell quite as soon as he threw open the door. He knew the questions were coming, but he still tried to walk past everyone and go straight to the bedroom.

"San? Where's Wooyoung?" Yeosang asked, sounding concerned.

He didn't feel the need to honor his friend with a response, so he kept walking and slammed the bedroom door behind him. They could have ruined everything. Didn't they know not to crowd someone they didn't know?

San paused when he realized he was talking about himself as well as Wooyoung, and he knew instantly why he felt so attached to the purple-haired stranger, besides the fact that he was adorable and charming and just overall enchanting.

Wooyoung was his lifeline in the sea of Yeosang's overwhelming friends.

There was no way he would have been able to get through this on his own. San wasn't the kind of person to try and fit in. He still questioned why Yeosang even put up with him sometimes. If he could coast through life without getting noticed then San would be perfectly happy.

Maybe he should have drowned. It's not like that many people would actually know he was gone.

The door to his room opened and the one person San could tolerate right now walked in.

Yeosang fiddled with the sleeves on his large, light blue sweater. They were long enough that it gave him sweater paws that San would usually coo over and make fun of him for.

But now he didn't really care.

"San? What happened?" Yeosang asked gently while coming to sit next to him on the bed.

"You need to learn to control your friends." San snapped and jerked his head to the side so he didn't have to look at his friend.

Yeosang let out a small sigh. "I'm sorry. I know they can be a bit much, but I promise they didn't mean any harm. Is Wooyoung ok?"

San shrugged. "I guess."

"San, please don't do this." Yeosang leaned forward to try and get his attention. "I'm really sorry they swarmed you."

"I didn't even want to come here in the first place Yeosang!" San pushed off the bed and rounded on his friend.

The older pursed his lips and stayed seated. San could tell that his words had stung, but his current state of mind made it so he barely had a filter. Yeosang was silent for a few more seconds before saying, "I'm sorry I didn't want to leave my brother alone all summer."

There it was. There was the dagger Yeosang was so good at wielding sometimes. San instantly felt the stab of guilt and sat down on Yeosang's bed, although he missed and ended up sliding down to the floor. "That was low." He grumbled.

"I think I reserve that right. You're overreacting just a little bit San." Yeosang crossed his arms. "Look, I know this isn't your ideal situation, but I was not going to let you mope around our apartment all summer and turn into some disgusting shut in! It's my job to take care of you, I promised Mom and Dad that I would, so you need to suck it up and get on board! Wooyoung isn't going to be around every day to distract you."

San glared off to the side and started picking at the skin around his nails.

"Look, I love you San, but if you're really that miserable then just figure out a way to get your own pathetic ass home, because I'm not going anywhere. I have too many things I want to do this summer."

"Like Jongho?" San finally cracked a smile when Yeosang snapped his mouth shut. "You know it's true."

And just like that the tense air was gone between them. No matter how often they bickered, San and Yeosang could always find a way to make peace. By now, it was a common thing for one of them to make a joke or change the subject and with one simple look, all was forgiven.

It wasn't surprising to either of them when things got tense enough that they took it out on each other. The Kang's always said it was easiest to hurt each other because that who they were closest to, and San definitely believed that.

Moments later, Yeosang was sitting next to San on the floor and the two of them were gossiping like high school girls at a slumber party. Yeosang was leaning into San's shoulders and giggling over something Jongho had done while they were exploring the town earlier that day.

"It sounds like you guys had a good time." San said, clutching his aching stomach from how hard they had been laughing.

"We did. I really like him, San." Yeosang placed a hand to one of his cheeks and sighed. "But I just don't know if he feels the same way."

"You could always ask."

The older scoffed. "Yeah, I've done that. Not happening again. This time I'm letting the other guy make the first move."

San nodded slowly, knowing that Yeosang was referring to the fact that he had dated some not-so-nice guys in the past because he had fallen hard and dove in head first. "I understand wanting to be cautious, but you have no right to tell me to embrace a summer fling and not be willing to try yourself." He reached over and pinched Yeosang's side and made him jump a little.

"Speaking of which... Did you guys, you know-" Yeosang jerked his eyebrows up a few times and stuck his tongue out the corner of his mouth.

There was no point in trying to hide it, but San still attempted to by saying, "You don't get to change the subject like that!"

"Yes I do, Choi San. I set everything up for you perfectly, so if you didn't do any-"

"Yes! We did, happy now!" San groaned and let his head fall against the bed.

Yeosang moved quickly so he was on his knees and sitting on his heels. "And? How was it?"

"That's private!" San tried to push him away but Yeosang was like a rock when determined and hardly budged.

"Since when is anything private between us?"

Fair point... San couldn't remember the last time he kept a secret from Yeosang. He let out a disgruntled sound and said with a pout, "It was amazing. A little awkward sometimes, but..."

"Awkward? Was he?"

San nodded and started to draw shapes on his knee after pulling it up to his chest. "Yeah."

"Damn! Look at you." His friend slapped San's thigh a couple of times gave a proud smile. "But in all seriousness, I'm glad it went well. Wooyoung is a little off, if you don't mind me saying, so I was a little worried."

"Me too. I still don't know what to make of him sometimes. It's like he was cut off from the world for most of his life."

Yeosang hummed. "Well now he has you to show him a good time for a little bit at least. Who knows, maybe you can even pull off a long distance relationship, but I would try to avoid that if you can. And I mean that with all the love I have for you. I don't think you would do well with that kind of relationship, so you need to really think about things, especially given the fact that this was his first time... If I had know that, honestly I don't know if I would have pushed you into this."

"Oh now you say that!" San glared at him, but the concerned look on Yeosang's face had any fight in him retreating immediately. He knew that what Yeosang was saying was true.

"It would be pretty funny if he ended up being one of those star struck people that instantly thinks you're his boyfriend now." Yeosang joked, trying to make light of the situation again.

"Ha. Yeah." San just rolled his eyes and pushed his friend one more time. This time was a success and Yeosang fell to the side but managed to catch himself before he landed on his side. "Come one, I'm hungry and I'm not walking out there alone."

"Don't pay them any mind, I'm sure your little tantrum is long forgotten by now."

It wasn't.

As soon as they entered the main living space everyone turned to stare at San for a moment before they returned to their conversations. And even that didn't last long before Chan had San in a head lock and was rubbing his head while apologizing for chasing away Wooyoung.

At first San wanted to retaliate, but when he saw everyone so relaxed and enjoying themselves, he let himself get into the moment and enjoy his time with Yeosang. And he had to admit, Yeosang's friends weren't that bad. Maybe he would give them a chance and start accepting invitations to hang out back home too.

But through it all, San allowed himself to have one moment with Yeosang where they locked eyes from different sides of the group.

One thing would always be for certain.

San would be lost without his brother.


	14. Chapter 14

Wooyoung couldn’t stop smiling as he twirled in circles through the dark blue water. He couldn’t get his tail to stop, so he let it control his body and found himself dancing and swaying with whatever tide he was caught in.

Never before had he felt this way.

His heart felt like it was going to pop with how hard it was still pounding.

Whatever it was that he had shared with San, he absolutely loved every second of it, even if it was a foreign feeling.

He always made sure to keep going in the direction of home, but he also indulged himself by stopping by some coral beds and watching the fish swim lazily in circles.

The little seahorses he had rescued earlier flitted over to him and nuzzled against his hand when he held it out, making the merman giggle. “It’s good to see you too! Are you guys staying out of trouble?” They blew a small stream of bubbles at him before swimming down to wrap their tails around a cluster of coral.

Wooyoung wiggled his fingers in farewell before swimming the rest of the way home. A couple of manta rays came to joint him and he reached down to touch their smooth skin, then watched as they majestically turned to glide away.

Even at night the ocean was truly beautiful, and right now everything seemed to have that extra shine to it.

As he swam down the main paths of his home, a few of his fellow merfolk gave him inquiring looks. It wasn’t unusual to see Wooyoung swimming among them, but seeing him this happy this late at night was a first.

A few of the children who were old enough to still be awake started to follow after him, giggling and calling out for him to slow down.

Wooyoung spun around so he was swimming with his back to the seafloor and flicked his tail in just the right was to cause a cloud of bubbles. “Sorry kids! I’ve got to go!”

He watched them all bob in place with sad looks, but they gave in swam back to their parents. Wooyoung would make it up to them later by sneaking them sweets from the castle. He enjoyed spending time with the kids, so he did feel bad about not being able to play.

The first place he went was his room. He wanted some time to think and process everything that had happened. Humans were so different from merfolk, and he had read that they expressed their feelings in different ways, but he had no idea it would feel so good.

It was like the high he had experienced was still there.

Then an idea came to him.

Wooyoung wanted to do something really special for San, something that was a merfolk tradition. But he had to be careful not to do anything that would give his secret away. Not yet, at least. Maybe he would tell San eventually, but that was something he tried not to think about right now.

He had no idea how San would react to learning that Wooyoung was a creature that humans considered to be a myth. From what other merfolk had said in the past, usually it wasn’t pretty. The humans turned either violent and called them monsters, or would lure them in and sell them at a high price.

Either route usually resulted in death or serious injuries.

That was part of the reason why Mingi was so protective of Wooyoung, and he knew that. The idea of anyone being lost or hurt when he was next in line to be kind was not something the Prince wanted.

At the thought of his friend, Wooyoung suddenly remembered the shark attack.

Even though Mingi wasn’t speaking to him right now, he needed to know about this, so Wooyoung hurried from his room and started searching the palace for his prince.

A silver tailed mermaid noticed him looking in the dining has and gave him a wide smile. “His Highness is in the armory going over inventory.”

“Thanks.” Wooyoung nodded and spun around to head in that direction.

The armory was off the main throne room where it could be easily accessed by the guards. The servants that maintained and polished the equipment were all hovering outside the room and talking amongst themselves. They bowed their head out of respect when the saw Wooyoung and he waved his hand in response.

Part of him hated that they did that, but because it was so well known that Mingi and Yunho wanted to be with him, his status among the pod was higher than most.

Which also allowed him to swim straight into the armory without being stopped.

Mingi was examining the tridents on the far wall. His long tailed swished casually below him, making all the extra fins on it swirl around it in a way that really was stunning.

Next to him, with his arms clasped behind his back, was Yunho. He was watching with a proud look in his eye, so that told Wooyoung that the inspection must be going well.

They both noticed him immediately and all emotion was immediately wiped from their face.

Wooyoung hesitated and almost turned around and left, but he didn’t. He didn’t want to be afraid to be around his friends.

“Hello, Wooyoung.” Mingi said. His voice was deep and formal, indicating he was still very upset.

The younger merman looked at the seafloor and sank down a little so that he was barley hovering above it. “H-Hey… Um, I have something that I wanted to report.”

“What’s wrong?” Yunho asked. Now some of the concern was coming back to his tone and he swam forward a little.

“Now before you freak out, I promise I’m fine.” Wooyoung peeked up at them. He knew he was easy to read and they could tell something had happened, so there was no delicate way to say this. “But, I was attacked by a female tiger shark today.”

All of the anger was suddenly forgotten as both males hurried forward and started examining Wooyoung instantly. Mingi grabbed his wrist and dragged him from the armory, then forced him to sit on his throne so he and Yunho could examine his tail.

Wooyoung felt his cheeks flushed when he noticed the servants shocked looks he received. “Guys, I promise I’m ok.”

“No you’re not!” Yunho gasped and pulled on his tail, causing him to slide down in the throne.

A sharp jolt of pain shot through him and Wooyoung slapped a hand to his mouth to cover his cry. Then he glanced down and noticed Yunho wiggling a few of his scales back and forth. One was visibly looser than the others.

“When did this happen?” Mingi reached forward to cup the side of Wooyoung’s face.

“Earlier today. I had to lay low and heal myself so I found a small cave to stay in that she couldn’t reach me at.” Wooyoung said, thinking quickly.

“You must be exhausted.” Mingi let his thumb drift back and forth on Wooyoung’s cheek gently. “Let’s get that scale removed and we can look for any others, then you should get some rest.” His voice was calm and concerned now. Wooyoung could hear the regret in it too and knew exactly what Mingi was thinking.

The shark could have killed him today and Mingi would have never forgiven himself for being mad at Wooyoung and not speaking with him before it happened.

“Mingi, it’s ok.” Wooyoung looked down and pulled his tail from Yunho’s grasp. “You don-“

“Come on, Woo, let me finish.” Yunho reached for his tail again and used his long fingers to wrap around the lose scale. When Wooyoung didn’t put up a fight, he pulled back with one quick, hard motion.

Wooyoung yelped and bit the back of his hand.

It was never a pleasant experience to loose a scale. Every part of a merman or mermaid’s body is overflowing with magic, including every single scale. To lose one caused a lot of pain. But at the same time, it was natural. Things could get lodged in between them and cause them to come lose naturally.

It was believed that part of the reason it was so painful was so goth at they could feel when one was lost and they could make sure to collect it. Even apart from their body they still held a high quantity of magic. That, coupled with their bright colors which make them unlike anything else in the ocean, it make them extremely valuable.

Yunho examined the small gap in Wooyoung’s tail and nodded in satisfaction before handing Wooyoung his scale. “Just keep an eye on it and another one should grow back in a couple of days.”

“Thanks guys.” Wooyoung pushed himself out of the throne and moved away from it a little. He could feel the hole in his tail like it was still an open wound. It had been awhile since he lost one.

After one final glance, Mingi turned to Yunho and moved closer to him. “Yun, I want you to set up a patrol. If there is an aggressive female tiger around there may be others. We need to see what caused this and prevent it if we can.”

Yunho nodded and lifted his hand up to cup the back of Mingi’s head and brought their foreheads together before he twirled around and swam to the main guard’s room.

“Come on, I’ll go with you to your room.” Mingi moved aside to allow Wooyoung to go first.

The younger knew not to argue with him, especially after the scene they had just caused in from of the servants who had all mysteriously vanished.

And yet they seemed to know exactly what was needed, because there was one waiting outside his room with a bowl of starfish ready to clean his tail and make sure everything else was ok.

Mingi dismissed them with a quiet thank you and took the bowl before following Wooyoung into his room.

The younger merman stretched out on his moss covered bed and watched as Mingi started to carefully place the starfish on his tail. “Can I get you anything else?”

“No, thanks Mingi.” Wooyoung couldn’t bring himself to look his friend in the eye. The guilt of lying to him about being on the surface was getting harder and harder for the younger merman, and adding the shark attack to it didn’t help either. Especially with the kindness and understanding Mingi was showing him now.

The Prince set the bowl down and gave Wooyoung a soft smile. He leaned forward to press his forehead to Wooyoung’s and closed his eyes.

Out of instinct, Wooyoung closed his too and shared in the connection with his friend, even if it meant something different to each of them.

He peeked through his eyelashes after a moment and when he noticed how close their lips were. His mind instantly flashed to kissing San and Wooyoung pulled his head away.

Hurt flashed across Mingi’s eyes and he let his hands fall to his side. “Get some rest. You’ve had a trying day.”

The red-tailed merman turned to leave and was almost through the arch when Wooyoung pushed himself up on his elbows and called, “Mingi?”

The older turned around with a worried look. “Yeah, Woo?”

“I’m sorry I worried you.”

The Prince hurried back over in a flurry of bubbles and nudged Wooyoung over on the bed and did something that someone of his position really shouldn’t do. He laid down next to Wooyoung and brought him into his arms. “It’s ok. I’m sorry for getting so upset with you. You’re… You’re allowed to have your own life.” Mingi let his fingers twist through Wooyoung’s purple hair and gently teased it. “I just want you to share it with me, and so does Yunho.”

Guilt built up even more in Wooyoung, so he tried to hide it by turning and pressing his face into Mingi’s chest. At least that would hide his trembling lower lip.

It had been a long time since he laid like this with either of his friends and Wooyoung realized he had missed it. They used to do this all the time growing up, at least until Mingi started taking on more responsibility and he and Yunho took each other as partners. Since then, they both started pushing Wooyoung so much that he had started drifting away. All three of them were to blame, but Wooyoung missed them.

So much.

Neither of them spoke further, which allowed Wooyoung’s mind to churn with confusion. He felt his loyalties being split in two, which in turn was tearing him apart.

He needed to figure out what he wanted to do. One path was clear. If he picked Mingi and Yunho, he would be safe and protected at home and would grow old helping make sure his pod was healthy and thriving.

But… the other path held mystery and adventure. Being with San and Yeosang was dangerous but thrilling. But was it realistic?

Wooyoung didn’t know, but he needed to figure it out soon.

The comfort of being next to one of his closest friends helped Wooyoung drift off to sleep, and at one point, he felt another body squeeze in behind him.

Both Yunho and Mingi surrounded him with their bodies and twisted their tails together to help keep them balanced on Wooyoung’s narrow bed.

This is what he could be a part of every single night.

And Wooyoung would be lying if he said he didn’t like it, but would it truly make him happy?

Or would the gorgeous human sleeping on the service manage to steal him away from everything he cherished so deeply?


	15. Chapter 15

The following day Wooyoung took his time leaving in the morning. He made sure to find both Mingi and Yunho and ask what they were doing for the day. Both said they would be busy monitoring the surrounding sharks, so Wooyoung used that as an excuse to say he would go and gather some herbs and monitor the far side.

At least it was some form of cover he could use that would seem reasonable.

His friends seemed hesitant, but they didn't argue with him knowing full well that it wouldn't matter.

Once he was dismissed, Wooyoung hurried to shore where he could change into human form and run to meet San.

He found the human waiting on the back porch looking up and down the beach with a worried expression, which quickly changed to relief once he saw Wooyoung.

Seeing San running toward him made Wooyoung pause and smile. It also filled him with a pleasant warmth that made him feel even better.

"I was starting to get worried you wouldn't come today." San admitted after pulling Wooyoung into a hug. "Especially after yesterday."

"I'm sorry, I just needed to do a couple of things this morning." Wooyoung giggled and pulled back from the hug. "What are we doing today?"

San reached up to caress his cheek right before kissing him. They both let out a small moan and pressed their bodies together, desiring the contact.

Wooyoung felt a longing filling his human body similar to yesterday and his kiss grew hungrier.

Needless to say, the couple didn't last long before they worked to find an excuse to be alone.

The next several days passed in very much the same way. Wooyoung was losing a fighting battle, he realized, but he just couldn't get enough of San.

If he wasn't with the human, or spending time with Mingi and Yunho like he was making sure he did, then he was in the library furiously trying to research something he could do to either help him chose or something that would make his decision easier.

He was slowly being torn in two...

Wooyoung didn't like the idea of leaving his home. Aquatis was magical and full of so much color and life. He loved everything about his home and the people living there. And in a way, he loved Mingi and Yunho too.

They had started dropping hints about wanting Wooyoung to join them again now that they were spending more time together, but he still didn't want to make that decision. Although the fact that his guilty conscious had him sleeping in their room and night now probably wasn't helping things.

Wooyoung also found himself looking for something that would make San stay here too...

But all he came across was legends of a sea witch rumored to be incredibly dangerous and twisted. He only found her mentioned in two scrolls and both expressed several warnings to never seek her out because she would always twist things around to benefit her.

Many merfolk had perished by her hand. It was written that she fed off the magic embedded within merfolk and used it to fuel her powers.

Things were looking hopeless...

As the weeks flew by, he noticed more and more that Yeosang and his friends were talking about the trip home and getting back to school.

San would always grow really quiet during these times and he looked visibly upset about something.

It made the merman hope it was the fact that San didn't want to leave, but there was something about the faraway look San would get whenever school was mentioned that told Wooyoung it was something else.

Time was running out and he was slowly starting to get desperate.

This was showing too in how much he and San were having sex, as he learned it was called. They did it whenever they had the house alone, and there was even one time when San pulled Wooyoung into the bathroom and kept a hand clamped over his mouth to keep the noise down.

It had become Wooyoung favorite feeling in the world and he savored every second of it.

But that euphoria was slowly coming to an end.

San started to grow quiet when they were together and he always looked like he was lost in thought. He would often reach for Wooyoung's hand and just hold it without saying anything.

The two of them spent long hours sitting on the beach together staring out at the ocean. It called to Wooyoung in ways that he wished he was able to share with San... He wanted to tell the human everything about him.

But there was always that small part of sense in him that knew it would be a bad idea.

The one silent agreement they seemed to have made was to never share personal information about themselves. Wooyoung had no idea what San's childhood was like, where he was from, what his parents were like... Nothing.

As he watched San's friends, he could tell they were anxious to get home. They were all inside packing their things and loading up what they called a car while he and San were sitting on the beach in what was now their spot.

The air was thick with unsaid words.

"Are... Are you all set to head home?" Wooyoung asked finally while looking at the sand. He felt his chest tightening at the words. He didn't want San to leave, there was still so much for them to do together...

"Yeah." San's voice was thick as he spoke. He turned to Wooyoung and closed his eyes. "Look, Wooyoung. I-"

"I have something for you." The merman said. He pulled a small bundle from the pocket in his shorts and handed it over to the human. A strange feeling came over him when it left his hands, almost like it was tied to his connection with San.

"What is this?" San asked. His hands shook, but he smiled down at the seaweed wrappings in his hand.

"Something for you to remember me by." Wooyoung added softly. "Because I'll never forget you or the time we spent together..."

San lowered the present and looked at Wooyoung with tear filled eyes. There was no doubting that the two of them had a connection.

Everything had felt so right when they walked along the beach holding hands in a content silence, or when laying together on the couch watching movies, or finding some new few for Wooyoung to try.

They had done so much together, and yet hardly anything, for the entire summer and it was perfect.

"Youngie, you didn't have to."

"Just open it." Wooyoung said, nudging San's shoulder.

He watched with anxious eyes as San pulled off layer after layer of seaweed to reveal the scale he had lost from the shark attack. The hole in his tail was filled now and good as new, but Wooyoung had held on to the scale to protect it.

San picked up the purple scale, which had been artfully wrapped in fine pieces of rope made from a stringy species of seaweed woven together so that he could wear it as a necklace or hang it up somewhere if wanted. The scale itself fit comfortable in the palm of his hand, so it wasn't too big and flashy. "It's beautiful. What is it?"

"Just a trinket I found in a small store. Supposedly it's a mermaid scale." Wooyoung fought a giggle at the skeptical look San gave him. "Around here, believers say that mermaid scales hold a special magic that will protect the owners and bring health and fortune."

"I haven't heard anyone say one thing about mermaids." San leaned back and started to laugh. "Don't tell me you are one of those superstitious people." He gave Wooyoung a wide, joyous smile that scrunched his eyes and showed off his dimples.

Wooyoung couldn't help but laugh along with him. They both fell onto their backs, laying so they were nuzzled together and looking up at the sky with San clutching the scale to his heart. With his other hand, he grabbed Wooyoung's and they watched the clouds pass by overhead.

"Do you really have to go?" Wooyoung finally asked. He turned to look at the human and let his eyes roam over San's face in an attempt to memorize every piece of it.

San turned to look at him too and he pressed his lips together. "I wish I didn't, but..."

"This isn't your home."

The human cringed and turned onto his side to face Wooyoung directly. "I don't really know what to say, Wooyoung. These past couple of months have been some of the happiest moments of my life. And while my life hasn't been ideal so far, I do have people I need to take care of, like Yeosang. We look out for each other."

Wooyoung turned onto his side as well and just nodded. "I understand. He's important to you too."

"It's not like that."

"I know."

San closed his eyes for a moment, then brought Wooyoung's hand up to hold it in front of his lips. "I know it would be unfair of me to ask your to wait for me, so I won't. But... If I were to find myself back in this area, could I see you again?"

Despite how crazy it sounded, and how much it hurt to think about, Wooyoung found himself nodding. "I'd like that."

"How will I get in contact with you?"

Wooyoung fidgeted for a moment. He had seen the devices San called a cellphone to contact Yeosang when they weren't together, but he didn't have anything like that. "Just come to the beach."

San's forehead creased with a silent question, but he just extended his neck to press their foreheads together. "I hate that it had to come to this, and I'm truly sorry. Part of me wishes we wouldn't have let it get as far as we did, bu-"

"I don't." Wooyoung kept his eyes closed even though he could feel San shifting next to him.

They stayed there a long time in silence before they started talking about the memories they had that would always stay with them.

For San, it was just walking around with Wooyoung and exploring the surrounding area. They had found a few hidden beaches, one of them being the beach Wooyoung transformed on every day. Several hours were spent there swimming in the ocean and sharing intimate kisses.

It was one of Wooyoung's favorite memories too. Being in the water with San made it feel like he had been sharing part of his world. The cool waves lapped against their skin, calling him home, but Wooyoung just let it sing to him like a comforting lullaby.

As the sun started to set, San propped himself up on one elbow. He slipped the scale around his neck and looked down at it for a moment before tucking it under his shirt and pressing his hand to it. "Woo, I-"

Wooyoung placed a hand on San's cheek. "Don't say it. Please. It'll hurt too much." He could feel his chest growing tight at the thought of having to say goodbye. Thinking it was one thing, but hearing San say it would be too much.

So instead, San tilted his head and crushed their lips together in a heated kiss. The two boys pressed their bodies together, closing any gap between them as they shared in the last few moments they would get together.

But as the seasons come and go, and he years comes to an end, eventually Wooyoung had to watch San walk away from him. His brought his fists up to his chest and stood there, watching the human who had changed his life get smaller and smaller.

He had asked San not to look back. And he meant it in more way than one. There was no point in San coming back here. All of Wooyoung's research had come up with nothing... They could never truly be together.

It was impossible.

Wooyoung was too different. He would never be accepted in this world.

The summer had been fun, exciting, and oh so educational.

And now it was time to leave it behind.

Wooyoung knew he would never forget about it, but he needed to do his best to set it aside.

His skin started to tingle right as San continued walked out of sight. He scratched at his arm and let his tears finally roll free form his eyes.

For a moment he had been able to dream of a different life.

"Alright Wooyoung." He whispered to himself while closing his eyes. "When you open your eyes, everything is going to go back to normal. This summer will only live on as a memory. It's time to get back to the your regular life."

The itching grew worse, letting Wooyoung know that he needed to change back soon.

"Goodbye San."

Wooyoung opened his eyes to an empty beach and the sound of the waves crashing in his ears, begging him to come home.

He turned around and walked back to his hidden area and changed back to his true for, pushing aside all regrets and remorse, so that he could swim home.

And he never looked back.


	16. Chapter 16

“I can’t wait to get home.” Yeosang said with a sigh while resting his head against the back of his seat. He let his hands drop to the bottom of the steering wheel and focused on following the car in front of them.

The group of friends made a little ‘car train’ so they could stick together and at this point in time Youngjo was in front of them leading the way.

San hummed and turned to look out his window. Part of him was ready to be home too. But a bigger part felt like he had left the best thing that had ever happened to him behind… And it was just getting further and further away.

His heart was heavy in his chest, something he had never experienced before, and all he could think about was the bright smile and contagious laugh that haunted him.

“Are you going to be ok?” Yeosang asked, glancing over in San’s direction. When he didn’t get an answer, he let out a more frustrated sigh and continued, “This is why I told you not to get attached.”

San pursed his lips and balled one of his hands into a fist, but held back every angry statement and he wanted to start spewing.

“But… I can see why you did. Wooyoung is definitely a very unique person. I’m… I’m sorry we had to leave. Did you get his number so you can stay in touch?”

“No.” San closed his eyes and was only mildly surprised when he felt a tear roll down his cheek. He made a quick movement to wipe it away and hoped Yeosang didn’t see it. “We both kind of agreed that it wouldn’t work.”

“Well, then maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”

San found himself nodding along with his friend’s words. But there was something about the statement that didn’t sit right with him. ‘Meant to be’…

“Oh, Jongho talked to you about a job, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Are you going to do it?”

“I’ll apply.” San commented. He could feel Yeosang’s disapproval at the short response, but thankfully he didn’t say anything else.

He had spoken the truth, though. A couple of weeks ago Jongho had overheard Yeosang and San talking about what he was going to do for a job when they got home and had told San about an opening at his work that he could apply for and he would make sure his resume got to the top of the list.

It would be a unique opportunity for him. It was a night time security guard that they would provide the training for. And really, Jongho made it sound like the most he would need to do is just make the rounds and watch the cameras.

San figured it would be good for him to have a job like that. He could be by himself and it would still force him to be active. And, as guilty as it made him feel, he was kind of looking forward to being on an opposite schedule from Yeosang too. He knew the older would become obsessive over his mood and would start constantly checking in to make sure he was ok.

And knowing Yeosang, he would probably try to start setting San up again too. A few of San’s past relationships or flings had been started because of blind dates initiated by Yeosang, so San couldn’t deny that his friend had good taste and knew him well. But… he had never felt like he was in the position to be able to have a healthy relationship.

Right now the last thing San wanted was to be forced into blind dates. No one had hit him as hard as Wooyoung did…

He hand drifted up to his chest and he gripped the mermaid scale he had hidden beneath it. The motion was something he had been doing ever since he put it on. For some reason, touching the scale brought a certain level of comfort to him.

To him, it was like Wooyoung had given a small piece of himself to San to hold onto forever. The summer had changed them both in many ways.

The rest of the drive home was uneventful and everyone broke off when they reached their turn to go home. They had all agreed on the overwhelming need to sleep in their own beds and Yeosang would see everyone when classes started again.

It took a couple of days for San to recover. Both he and Yeosang had slept for almost two days straight, only getting up to go to the bathroom or get food or water, otherwise they stayed to their respective rooms.

And just as excepted, Yeosang started trying to mother him as soon as they were both up and about. San put up with it to the best of his ability, but he wanted nothing more than to numb the ache that never seemed to leave his chest.

Jongho ended up securing him the job, although it sounded like there weren’t a lot of applicants since it was an overnight job. It gave San a small feeling of accomplishment knowing that he had secured another job and he was going to be able to help with rent again.

He hoped it would provide a good distraction for him too…

But he knew it would take time.

Time for him to accept that…

He had left his heart on the beach that day with the man who had stolen it.

.

.

.

.

Several weeks after San left, Wooyoung found himself staring toward the surface every chance he got. He missed going up there and getting to experience the mysterious world.

Now that he didn’t have an excuse to go up there, he found he had a lot of time on his hands that he didn’t know what to do with.

Mingi and Yunho had noticed it too and questioned him often about why he was around more. It was hard to come up with a believable excuse, so Wooyoung just stuck with how much he had been missing them.

When he heard that, Yunho had sped forward to grab Wooyoung and flicked his tail hard enough to spin them in his circles.

And Mingi had just given him a look of hope and happiness.

Wooyoung wasn’t exactly lying when he said it. He did miss his friends, but there was now an emptiness in him that they just couldn’t seem to fill.

While they were fulfilling their duties as Prince and head of the royal guard, Wooyoung spent time with his old teacher learning other medicinal remedies and spells. He had always been interested in it and had spend quite a bit of time with the old merman before meeting San.

If he was going to do anything with his future, Wooyoung figured this would be a good way to fill his time. Maybe one day he would take over as the pod healer too.

He was tempted to go by the library and continue doing what research he could on humans, but whenever he got close, he remembered that there really wasn’t a reason to learn everything anymore…

That thought just sent him on a downward spiral.

It was during one such time that Wooyoung swam to the outskirts of the city to hide in the coral gardens. Some of the fish came over to check on him and would touch their mouths to his skin in an almost kissing motion.

The merman couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh as he settled into the sand and let his tail fall gracefully to the sea floor. A small cloud of sand floated up around him and he watched in almost a daze as it fell slowly back into place.

The silence was peaceful, in a way, but Wooyoung also found himself missing the noise and chaos, even the music that ruled the world above.

And it made him question everything…

Surprisingly, though, he wasn’t alone for long.

The fish around him scurried away when a shadow passed overhead, followed closely by a second on.

Mingi dropped down next to Wooyoung and turned into his side so he was supporting himself on one arm. “I knew we’d find you here.”

The younger smiled and bent his tail up to wrap his arms around it, but like when he would do the same thing with his knees as a human. “What’s up?” He asked.

“Nice try.” Yunho sat on his other side and ran his long fingers through Wooyoung’s light purple hair. “What’s wrong, Woo? And don’t say nothing.”

“You’re growing distant again. Are you unhappy helping Mer Kim out?” Mingi’s forehead creased in concern.

“No! No, Mer Kim is great. I love working with him.” Wooyoung waved his hands back and forth quickly, causing a flurry of bubbles to appear and drift toward the surface. “He and Mera Kim are lovely. She keeps trying to get me to try her new receipts, which we all know isn’t a good idea.”

Yunho covered his mouth with his hand as he started to laugh. The Kims were a sweet, older couple that the entire pod adored, but Mera Kim had… questionable tastes in food. According to her, though, most of them were traditional dishes from when she was growing up. The Kims were from a pod from a different part of the world that had been discovered and hunted down by humans. Neither would disclose how old they really were, but the way they spoke and the knowledge they had, Wooyoung had always guessed they had to be several hundred years old.

They had only joined the pod when Mingi’s grandfather was on the throne. Since then, the death toll from disease had decreased drastically, so this was the first time the pod had members living the longer life spans that had been gifted to their race.

“Well I’m glad to hear that.” Mingi smiled when he glanced at Yunho. “But, you seem… unhappy. Again.”

“Min, I-“

“So I came up with an idea.” Mingi held up a hand to cut Wooyoung off and his face changed to a devastated frown. “You have a restless spirit, and… as much as I want to… I don’t think it can be tamed.”

Yunho placed a hand on Wooyoung’s shoulder and nodded along with what Mingi was saying. The motion had Wooyoung looking back and forth between both his friends. He felt himself starting to worry about what was going to come, but he knew he needed to let Mingi speak at his own pace.

“So… I was wondering if you wanted to be a part of a summons that Father is sending out to other pods.” Mingi’s eyes flicked up. There was resignation in them, and the hint of regret, but he didn’t say anything more as he waited for Wooyoung to respond.

“Summons? For what?”

“My coronation.”

Wooyoung sat up a little straighter and gasped. “Mingi! That’s amazing! Your father is ready to step aside?”

The Prince nodded. “You know he’s not going to get better. The sickness is something that Mer Kim can only delay. So, he wants to see me crowned before he passes on.”

At those words, Wooyoung scooted himself over to wrap his arms around Mingi’s chest and pressed his head to Mingi’s shoulder. Mingi instantly hugged him back with the arm that wasn’t propping him off the sea floor. “I’m sorry…”

“Thank you.” Mingi’s voice was barely above a whisper. He pressed his lips and nose to the top of Wooyoung’s head and held him tighter.

The King had been sick for a long time, even long before Mingi was born. It was an old disease that ate away at a merfolk’s body from the inside, with the side effect of rotting off their scales. The closer the merperson was to death, the less scales they had on their tale.

Even Mer Kim didn’t know how to treat it. The disease was incredibly rare, with the King’s case being the first one in this pod’s history. Mer Kim had only ever seen two other cases.

The entire pod knew the time was coming, but that didn’t stop them from showering the King and Mingi with all their love and respect.

“The King wishes it to be a grand celebration.” Yunho moved closer as well and reached over Wooyoung to place a comforting hand on Mingi’s shoulder. “He said he wants nothing more than to see Mingi ascend to take the thrown before he dies. I think he’s ready, but he’s using the last of his strength to hold on a little while longer. That being the case, it’s customary to invite representatives from other pods to attend the coronation.”

Wooyoung lifted his head when he realized what his friends were getting at. “And… you want me to deliver that message?” He looked up at Mingi and was greeted with a sad, but adoring look.

“I would trust no one else. As much as I will miss you, maybe it would be good for you to get out and see other parts of the ocean.”

So many thoughts flew through Wooyoung’s head, he didn’t even know how to respond. This could be a wonderful distraction for him, and he was curious by nature. But, he would miss Mingi and Yunho terribly… Not to mention he knew how dangerous this could be.

“Are you sure?” Wooyoung started to pull away, but Mingi shifted so he was sitting up and could wrap both arms around him.

“No. But I don’t know what else to do… Just promise me you’ll come back to us safe and sound.”

“Please.” Yunho added before hugging Wooyoung from behind.

The young merman felt his heart flutter at the action and he smiled while pressing his nose to Mingi’s neck. “I will. I promise, I’ll come back as fast as I can.”


	17. Chapter 17

Once the announcement of Mingi’s coronation spread throughout the pod, a few volunteers came forward to go with Wooyoung as an escort. Most of them simply wanted the adventure, but some because they had distant relatives in other pods that they were interested in visiting.

A royal summons was always a big deal, so they would end up spending a few days with each pod once they were received by the royal family.

There was usually a large feast, a night of celebration, and time was given to gather gifts from the pod. Any crafters or artisans would push aside all other projects to prioritize making something for the coronation.

And this was going to be an even bigger deal because there had not been a coronation in any pod for over one hundred years. With their lifespan, coronations were either few and far between, or they all happened in a small clump once one generation was ready to pass on the responsibility to their children.

Mingi’s was a rare case given the condition of his father.

This also meant that Yunho was going to be busy preparing to receive so many strangers in their midst. Security was going to be extra high just in case, although Mingi wasn’t too worried since they were a peaceful race.

The guard still insisted on having extra staff on hand so that way Mingi was always close to someone.

A few of his most trusted mermen were also assigned to go with Wooyoung. They would be equipped to handle any kind of predator they may come across on their journey.

Wooyoung watched as the four guards started to strap pieces of armor made from sea turtle shells and infused with magic to their bodies for protection. The only thing they couldn’t cover was their tails, but they were trained to protect those so it wasn’t a concern.

“Woo, I’d feel better if you put on some armor too.” Mingi said from where he was leaning against a wall and chewing nervously on a nail. Now that this was actually happening, he had tried to convince Wooyoung to stay, but Yunho was the voice of reason and reminded him that this was his idea in the first place.

“I’ve never worn it before, it’ll only slow us down.” Wooyoung eyed the guards again and one of them sent a nod of agreement before fastening a large piece over his chest. “These guys will protect me, everything will be fine.” He turned to his friend and smiled.

If he was being honest, Wooyoung was really looking forward to this. It would give him time to clear his head and be, somewhat, on his own for a little bit. He was planning on using the time to think about everything too.

Wooyoung glanced at Mingi and Yunho as they did a final inspection of the coronation committee. They moved almost in perfect sync and always seemed to know where the other was or what the other was going to do next.

He didn’t know if he would ever fit in with that, but he knew that the way he felt things for others had changed since San left, and… he didn’t want to be alone.

So he had already decided that if he couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to say no, Wooyoung would accept the bracelet waiting for him once he came home. It would make a nice coronation present for Mingi.

A smile tugged at his lips at the thought and he knew that he would be able to find happiness with them.

He just needed to work on letting San go completely. Hopefully this journey would do the trick. The closest pod was already a several days swim away, and that was just the first one.

Overall, they anticipated that the committee would be gone for almost two months, but as a safety net they were planning on three.

Unfortunately, the likelihood of Mingi’s father surviving longer than that was very slim.

When Wooyoung had gone to say goodbye, the merman’s tail was frail and a sickly grey color. Very few scales remained, and they had lost the glorious orange hues he used to be blessed with.

“Come here, my boy.” The King said, holding up a shaking hand.

Wooyoung hurried forward to take it while bowing his head in respect. The King, even in his current state, still resembled Mingi in many ways. They had the same thinner eyes and longer face. And when he managed a shaking smile, there was the same glow to their swirling brown eyes.

“Thank you.” He whispered, lifting his other hand up to pat the back of Wooyoung’s hands. “Stay safe. For me. And Mingi.” The King had to pause a lot when he spoke, but he still managed to hold the kind but authoritative tone that his people loved.

“I will.” Wooyoung did his best to give a hope-filled look. He wanted to leave a good, final impression with one of the mermen that practically raised him, just in case… “Thank you for everything.” He added, feeling his chest tighten a little as awful thoughts started to fill his head.

The King just shook his head in response and patted his hands once more. “You grew into… a fine young merman… I’m proud of you.”

Wooyoung’s lower lip trembled a little at the high praise and he felt himself sinking down a little to settle into the sand beside the King’s bed. He watched as the merman gave him one more weak smile before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Only when he had watched the King’s chest rise and fall several times to show he was just sleeping did Wooyoung slowly slip away.

And now it was time to say goodbye to his friends. Although they promised not to say those words.

As was their habit, Mingi pulled Wooyoung to his chest and Yunho hugged him from behind. None of them spoke, all they wanted to do was enjoy each other’s presence for as long as they could.

But even that had to come to an end.

The entire pod gathered to wish them a safe journey. Wooyoung waved goodbye to the children and Mer Kim, who had an are wrapped around Mera Kim’s waist. The two of them had given him a small seal skin pouch so he could carry some potions and salves with him as a parting gift, which Wooyoung had slung over one shoulder it hung right where his tail started.

After a few minutes, the traveling group all turned away from their home and swam into the deep dark blue of the open ocean.

A few of the volunteers, and Wooyoung, held special rods that had preserved jellyfish wrapped around the end. It was a special species gifted with fluorescent light. They used it as a way to ward of predators, but for merfolk, it was used as a light so they could see the surrounding area.

The guards kept their tridents ready at all times. The uptick in sharks were still a problem and some of the faster species could strike without any warning.

This first leg of the journey would also involve crossing a wide trench that went even deeper into the ocean.

Ancient creatures were said to dwell there, but it was another forbidden place for the pod to go. They weren’t equipped to handle what was reported to roam the darkest spaces of the ocean.

Wooyoung found himself looking around for any signs of sea life besides themselves. Sometimes he forgot just how big the ocean really was. It was several hours before they came across a dark mass rising from the deep.

The group paused, except for the guards, who all moved to attack positions, and waited to see what mystery was coming.

A look of wonder crossed Wooyoung’s face when he recognized what it was.

A gigantic sperm whale.

It watched them with wary eyes as it moved its powerful tail back and forth to propel its massive body toward the surface for air.

“I’ve never…” One of the volunteers, Wooyoung recognized her as one of their animal experts, said with her hand over her mouth. Her soft pink tail swayed gently below her

The creature opened its mouth, revealing sharp teeth, then a series of loud clicks started to come from the creature before it turned to expose its stomach to them.

One of the guards looked like he was preparing to attack but the mermaid placed a hand on his arm. “Don’t, she’s just using her echolocation to check us out. They aren’t naturally violent.” She spoke with a smile and never looked away from the massive creature.

Several more started to appear as well, and many of them had what looked to be large squid in their mouths.

“I bet they have calves waiting for them at the surface. Let them pass in peace.”

The group did as the mermaid instructed, even when one of the whales moved closer to check them out. For her size, Wooyoung was impressed by how graceful she was. She got as close as she possibly could but exercised great caution to never actual touch them, even when she used her tail to propel her toward the surface once she was done.

It was truly a beautiful moment that Wooyoung couldn’t believe he got to see.

“They will be at the surface for a little bit to get air before they dive once more. Let’s go.” The mermaid nodded to the guards and everyone started to swim forward again.

The pod of whales started sending off several clicks all at once and a few stopped to turn and look at them.

“What are they doing now?” One of the guards asked.

The mermaid tilted her head, then shook it. I don’t… I don’t know. I-“ Her words were cut off by a bloodcurdling scream when something long, thin, and sharp shot through her arm.

Panic immediately set in and the four guards looked around to find the attackers.

Wooyoung’s jaw dropped when a large, round creature appeared in the distance. It had the same rounded nose of a sperm whale and two fins that seemed to of its side, but the dorsal fin was all wrong… it was flat and rounded on the creature’s back.

Suddenly two beams of light blasted them and the entire group lifted their arms to cover their eyes.

The mermaid was still crying out in pain, and then there were a few other horrified screams.

Wooyoung lowered his arm to try and see what was going on. He knew right away that were in a worse situation than they could have ever prepared for. The lights were something that no creature could make.

So whatever the thing was in front of them… it was made by humans.

And this was confirmed when a hole opened underneath it and sever humans encased in something black and carrying large yellow cylinders on their back appeared from within it.

They were all carrying what looked to be a weapon and had large flat things on their feet that propelled them forward much faster than normal.

“Human!! Swim!” Wooyoung shouted. His heart was racing as he spun around and swam for the injured mermaid to grab her around her waist. “Come on, swim!” He urged.

She whimpered and held her arm close to her chest, but did her best to push her tail back and forth to move forward.

Wooyoung glanced over his shoulder to see the guards swimming toward the humans with lightning speed. One of them managed to stab a human right in the stomach right away and his body started to sink into the black abyss below them.

He could see that his pod-mates had the speed and agility, but the humans had power. One of them fired the contraption in their hands and another object shot through the attacking merman’s shoulder. This caused him to drop his trident and he spun around to try and protect himself.

But this caused him to get tangled in whatever cord was still attacked to the bold now protruding from his shoulder on both sides.

The human holding the weapon started swimming backward, dragging the struggling merman with him.

Several more screams came from his right, and Wooyoung saw the volunteers all being attacked by humans.

They were completely surrounded.

And there was another problem…

The water was filled with clouds of blood.

“Wooyoung!” One of the guards came over to him and pulled the wounded mermaid from his arms. “Go, tell Prince Mingi! You’re the fastest one here.”

“Bu-“

The guard opened his mouth to say something else, but he was interrupted when the mermaid screamed once more and was yanked from his arms.

Wooyoung immediately swam up once he saw the jaws of a large shark enclosed around her tail. The beast was big enough that her tail was already in shreds before he started to drag her down.

Her screams could still be heard even after she was swallowed in the blackness.

“Wooyoung, go!!” The guard shouted once more. He spun around and used the weight of his tail to strike an oncoming shark to stun in, then swam forward to try and attack another human.

He didn’t need to, though.

The sharks were on neither side, so one sped up from the depths and grabbed the human’s arm. It clamped down hard enough that with one jerk of it’s head, the arm came off right above the elbow.

It was a massacre.

And more and more sharks were coming every second.

Soon there would be no escape.

Wooyoung did one final glance around and his heart started beating even faster when he realized there was no hope for the others… He covered his mouth with his hands to muffled the sob that ripped from his throat.

He gave into his instincts and started swimming toward the surface, praying that none of the sharks would follow him and that they would take care of the rest of the humans.

How had everything gone from so magical to complete tragedy in a matter of minutes?

In his panic, all he could focus on was the fact that the water was slowly getting lighter around him. The surface was his goal, or at least close to the surface as he dared to go.

He didn’t know if it was his imagination or not… but Wooyoung swore he could still hear the screams of his pod coming from below him. They were in pure agony and there was nothing he could do.

But he had to let Mingi know.

The young merman tried to gather his bearings so he could get home as fast as possible. This was too close to home.

He had no idea where he was, though… and all the traveling gear was now either in the stomach of a shark or on the sea floor.

So he swam the rest of the way to the surface so he could see where the sun was.

He broke through the surface so fast that he flew out of the water and landed on his side with a hard smack. Wooyoung grabbed his side and tried to shake off the pain as he glanced up at the sky.

It was late enough in the day that the sun was close to the horizon.

Wooyoung knew where he needed to go.

He would get home.

He had to.

He had promised Mingi and Yunho that he would get home safe.

Wooyoung dove below the surface of the water, slapping his glistening tail against the surface from the force of the flip.

And swam straight into a barbed net.


	18. Chapter 18

Panic set in immediately.

Wooyoung felt the barbs grabbing onto him and ripping at his scales and skin with each attempt he made to free himself.

He whipped his tail back and forth in desperation, hoping to dislodge any of the barbs, but it just made them sink in deeper.

“Help!” Wooyoung shouted.

He thought he could still hear the faint screams of his people dying below him. There was no one available to help him, but that still didn’t stop him from calling out.

“Help! Someone, please!”

The merman reach around and grabbed at the net. The barbs sliced the palms of his hands open, but that didn’t stop him from trying to pull himself free.

He flicked his head around, looking for something, anything, that could help him. But he was stuck in a net in the middle of the open ocean.

One thing he did notice, however, was that there were a few other sea creatures stuck in the net too. The biggest shock was a large hammerhead shark. It wasn’t moving, so it must have been trapped long enough to have died, leaving it to just hang from where it was snared in the net.

Wooyoung flicked his tail again and cried out when the barbs dug in deeper.

His thoughts flicked to Mingi and Yunho. They weren’t going to know about any of this… He had promised them he would come home..

Wooyoung screamed and tried to rip himself out of the net. He couldn’t let get caught. He needed to get home.

But soon he found that the net was wrapped several times around his tail. He bent in half one more time to try and pull himself free.

Then a strong current shook the net violently and Wooyoung’s left arm became tangled within it.

Now things were truly hopeless.

He couldn’t even access his magic and he wasn’t sure if it was from the fear or the blood loss…

Wooyoung covered his mouth with his one free hand and cried out when he tried to pull his other arm free, but just like with his tail, all it managed to do was make the barbs dig in deeper.

He was trapped. There was no way out now…

The merman glanced up toward the surface. He was still a good distance away, so there was no chance of any boats passing by seeing him, but he was in trouble when the owner of this net came to collect it.

For now, the only thing he could think of to do was try to calm down and tap into his magic. He closed his eyes and slowed down his breathing while also making sure not to move. He knew he needed to stay alert enough just in case any sharks came.

Wooyoung had no idea how much time passed, but he was jolted out of his attempts to access his magic when the net jerked. He opened his eyes and looked around for the cause.

His heart stopped when he saw the dark shadow of a boat in the distance. Right in the direction the net was now being pulled.

He renewed his struggles to get free, especially when the net stopped moving. It happened whenever a trapped animal was pulled out of the water.

Wooyoung glanced at the shark next to him and clawed at the net around his tail.

The surface was steadily getting closer and closer and Wooyoung started to hear the humans on the ship yelling at each other.

“Shark! We gotta shark in the net! Gimme the hook!”

“Hook comin!”

Wooyoung watched as the hammerhead was speared and pulled out of the water. He continued his squirming and pulled at the net, causing the boat to jerk.

“We gotta live one!”

“Everyone get ready to pull!”

The net gave a great jerk and Wooyoung cried out in pain. He wriggled desperately, but to no avail.

In a matter of seconds, Wooyoung was pulled above the surface of the water. Several gasps and exclamations came from the crew of the ship as he was hauled over the side and fell with a large wet slap to the deck.

He tried to pull his arms close to him, but the one was still snared in the net, leaving him on full display for the group o humans in front of him.

If he thought the shark attack had been scary, it was nothing compared to this.

At least ten sets of eyes stared at him in disbelief.

Wooyoung shook his head quickly. He decided it was best to play dumb, but at the moment he didn’t really know what else to do anyway.

“Is… Is that what I think it is?” One of the men asked. He was a big, burly guy with a bushy gray beard and a bit of a pot belly with skin stretched thin from years of being on the open ocean.

“What else would it be?” Another, younger boy with flyaway red hair asked. “But I didn’t think they were real.”

“They aren’t. This has to be a joke.”

All of the voices started to blur together in Wooyoung’s mind. He couldn’t pick out who was saying what, all he could focus on was anything he could use to try and escape.

“Let’s get it out of there, then we will decide what to do with it.”

“Is it dangerous?” One of the men crouched down and held out a hand, reaching slowly for Wooyoung.

The merman used his free had to slap it away. All the humans recoiled and cried out.

Fear took over instantly and one of them grabbed a rope to loop around Wooyoung’s free wrist. He pulled on it hard so that another man could come closer. He held a knife up and pointed it at Wooyoung.

To try and defend himself, Wooyoung mustered up the strength to try and hit the man with his tail, but it was so much heavier out of the water that all it did was flop uselessly against the deck.

With his one arm now also restrained, he couldn’t do anything to stop the man as he got close enough to start cutting the net.

Another one stepped forward to hold down his tail once that was free while the net was cut away from his arm, chest, and stomach. “Bugger’s strong.” He grunted when Wooyoung jerked his tail.

“Bind its arms once you cut it free, we can’t take any chances. I don’t think it’s strong enough to really do anything out of the water.”

Wooyoung tried once more to summon his magic, but it just wouldn’t come. He felt water running down his cheeks as he whimpered from how overwhelmed he felt.

How had this happened? The only thing he could think of was the surprise attack on his pod down below. The memory of their screams had him collapsing against the deck.

A stiff breeze whipped around him, bringing a chill to his skin and Wooyoung found himself shivering whenever he wasn’t wincing from barbs being pulled from his skin.

Once the net was gone, one man worked on yanking his arms behind his back, bending them so that he could grab the opposite elbows with his hands, while another one worked to bind his forearms together. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, another rope was looped around his arms and chest, immobilizing his upper body.

“Should we do anything with it’s tail?” One of them asked hesitantly.

Wooyoung wriggled in place, testing his bonds, but remained as silent as he could. At this point, there was really no way out of his situation. The most he could do was try to protect as many of his secrets as he could…

The realization hit that he was trapped, and it hit him hard… It felt like he was trapped beneath a boulder sinking to the bottom of the ocean, being forced down faster and faster and faster…

He slowly lowered his head to rest it on the deck and stopped struggling. There was no point. All the precautions, all the safety measures, all the magic… it was all for nothing. He was going to bring ruin to his race.

“Someone call… somebody. Who do we even call?” The man with the potbelly asked, rubbing the back of his head while studying Wooyoung.

“I may have someone, let me try them real quick. We may have to head back to shore to get service, though.”

“This net is trash anyway since we had to cut it apart. Hopefully there was nothing else of value in it.”

“Are you kidding?! We’ve hit the jackpot!”

The ship erupted in chatter as the humans finally realized the prize they had on their ship. A few of them were shaking hands or patting each other’s backs.

All while Wooyoung was left tied up at the front of the ship.

He closed his eyes and tried to tune out everything. And the only thing that allowed him to do that was letting his thoughts drift to his time with San. This whole trip was supposed to help him forget about his time with the sweet, kind, amazing human…

The first thing that came to his mind was the way San’s face would light up as soon as he saw Wooyoung walking up to him on the beach. His smile would get so wide, allowing the dimples on both cheeks to form and turning his eyes into adorable half moons that gave him the most precious look ever.

Just imagining it was enough to bring a faint smile to Wooyoung’s face. He tried to hold onto that feeling. It filled his chest with so much warmth, but even more pain that a sob escaped him.

Thankfully the humans were being loud enough that they didn’t notice. Wooyoung tried to curl into himself and hide, and he was flexible enough that he could slide his tail across the deck and fold in half to rest his forehead against his tail, but it didn’t provide as much comfort as he had hoped it would. But for now he could at least hide his face.

After some time, one of the humans started talking in a rushed manner. “No, I’m not kidding! It’s right here on my ship! We just pulled it up in one of our nets… Yes… Well I mean, this is huge, right?... What can we do with it?... Yeah… Ok… Ok, see you soon.”

“What’s the plan?”

“Don’t go to the main pier. We are going to a small cove where we are going to meet my buddy. He works for a research facility and promised that we will be generously compensated.”

“I like the sound of that.” Several of the men started to laugh.

And all Wooyoung could do was wait…

That time seemed to fly by, much to his displeasure, because he suddenly had several pairs of hands grabbing him and trying to haul him off the deck.

It was then that he realized just how dry he was. He glanced in the direction of the ocean and started to squirm again in one last attempt to free himself. But it was no use.

Five men were needed to carry him from the ship and keep him under control. They dumped him on the beach a few meters on shore and the biggest man stepped on Wooyoung’s stomach to keep him from rolling away.

The merman yelped in pain and closed his eyes. If he didn’t get in water soon, he was going to be in a different kind of trouble…

“Well I’ll be.” A new, older voice said. “At first I didn’t want to believe you, but… you’ve actually found on.” Wooyoung opened his eyes just in time to see a greying man snap his fingers several times and start pointing around. “Quick, get him loaded up and make sure there’s enough water in the tank. We have a long journey ahead of us. And pay these boys what they deserve.”

Once more, Wooyoung was lifted off the ground, this time after being rolled onto a large blanket secured to polls on either end that was used to carry him.

He watched with wide eyes as a large vehicle appeared in front of him. He was lifted into the back and gritted his teeth when half of the blanket was dropped and he rolled into a tank of water that was barely long enough to fit him. It forced him to sit up and lean his bound torso against the side of the tank while his tail stretched, almost, out in front of him.

Even though he knew his situation was bleak, he was thankful to be in water again. He already felt revitalized, although still not enough to make his escape.

The old man came to sit next to him and place his palm against the glass. “At last. Do you have any idea how long I’ve searched for you?”

Wooyoung turned his head away and pretended not to understand. It was the one advantage he knew he had over the humans, so he needed to hold onto that for as long as possible.

“You don’t even know what I’m saying, do you? No matter… You are going to be the key to everything. My masterpiece.”

The man started to laugh, and continued to do so even after the tank jolted, indicating that they were moving once more.

On top of being held prisoner by what could be considered his worst enemy, Wooyoung felt any last possible shred of hope he may have had leave him as he was forced to get further and further away from his home.

And he knew… deep down, that he would never see his home again.


	19. Chapter 19

As San finished buttoning his shirt, he eyed himself in the mirror and couldn’t help but feel good about himself. The uniform had been tailored to fit his body perfectly, accenting his broad shoulders and how they tapered down into his waist. But that didn’t look as skinny as it could because he had his utility belt strapped around it which carried his walkie talkie, keys, flashlight, and a taser gun.

He’d never needed to use the gun before, but it was provided to him just in case.

The job itself was actually really easy. There was nothing to do but patrol and check outside doors to make sure they were secure.

It had been almost three months since he started the job and even though its ad been hard adjusting to working overnights, San felt a lot better about his place in life.

There wasn’t much he could do to mess up this job, which was a little comforting to him because he didn’t want to get himself fired again. Plus, he didn’t want to ruin the opportunity Jongho had made for him.

The younger was also a security guard, but he did the afternoon shifts, so there was a little bit of an overlap to where they say each other for a few hours each day they both worked.

San had also been out through some training classes, all paid for, so that he could learn self defense and how to use the taser gun.

After that, the job was easy.

A soft knock pulled San’s attention from the mirror and Yeosang poked his head in. “Hey, are you ready to go?”

“You know you don’t need to take me, right? I can just take the bus.” San double checked that he had everything on his belt before following his friend from the room.

“I know, but I really don’t mind.”

“You’re just using it as an excuse to see Jongho.” San teased, poking his side.

“Am not.” Yeosang tried to deny it, but the way he pressed his lips together in a thin line told San he was trying to hide any other expression that might come to his face.

San laughed and patted his shoulder. “Why don’t you just ask him out already?”

“I- I don’t’ know what you’re talking about.”

“Fine, then just drop me off today and come back home to get ready for bed. Don’t come inside.” San smirked while he waited for a response, which he received none.

This had been a routine with them for about a month now, ever since San’s car decided it wanted to stop running and blow its engine. The repairs were way to expensive, but they were lucky since he and Yeosang worked on opposite schedules.

Yeosang got off just in time to take San to work and then he would make sure he was up in time to come pick him up. The only reason San didn’t take the car at night was because his job was located in a poor location, so they had decided they didn’t want to risk someone trashing it.

“So they are talking about giving me a raise.” San said while scrolling through his phone.

“Really?” Yeosang glanced at him with a wide smile. “Already? That’s incredible!”

The younger smiled and let his head fall back onto his headrest and turned to look at his friend. “Yeah, I didn’t realize they liked me so much. I guess they are bringing in something new that I need to help out with too, so they are going to expect a little bit more from me.”

“I’m proud of you San. It feels like you’ve found a place that works for you.”

“Yeah, I miss seeing you though.” San reached over to take Yeosang’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “We live together but we hardly see each other.”

Yeosang let out a small sigh and nodded. “I know. That’s why I like doing this too, because it gives us this time at least.”

San couldn’t bring himself to tease the older anymore for wanting to see Jongho. He was starting to feel too emotional. With all the changes that had happened the past few months, he had found himself having a hard time with statements like that.

And that’s what brought forth the reflex to raise his free hand to chis chest while looking out the window.

Hidden beneath his uniform and resting against his bare skin was the mermaid scale Wooyoung had given him.

Even though Part of San had found it silly at the time, it was something he had worn every day since saying goodbye.

For awhile, Yeosang had tried to tell him that was a bad idea. He needed to move on and wearing something like that wouldn’t allow him to have fully closure.

But the one day San didn’t wear it had been one of the worst days of his life. That was the day his car broke down, he had also broken some large glass pieces at work and and was worried he’d be fired. The next day he had worn the scale again and his boss told him not to worry about it and that they had been looking at replacing those pieces anyway so he had just sped up the process.

San had been rendered speechless and decided not to argue with it, but since then he wore the scale nearly every hour of the day.

When they arrived at San’s work, Yeosang pulled around back to the employee parking. He came often enough that no one got mad at him for being back there.

Jongho was leaning against the outside wall scrolling through his phone. San already knew he had purposefully taken his break late to go out and wait for them. The thought it was sweet how the two of them had the biggest crush on each other but neither one seemed to know what to do about it.

Yeosang seemed to hesitate for a moment, almost as if he was considering San’s words from earlier and was determined to prove him wrong. But when Jongho lifted his head and waved, all of Yeosang’s resolve vanished and he slipped out of the car to walk over with San. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jongho responded.

“Are you guys really still stuck on monosyllables?” San said with a teasing tone. He waved them off with a simple flick of his wrist and stepped inside to give them some time alone.

All the back halls were for employees only, so he received a few greetings from anyone who was getting ready to leave for the day.

San’s shift started one hour before closing time so that Jongho had enough time to fill him in on anything that might have happened during the day.

He waited for the younger in the locker room where he placed his wallet and jacket inside for safe keeping.

By the time he was finished, Jongho was stepping inside to meet him. “So not much to report. It was a pretty slow day, but I have a feeling that’s due to the construction. The higher ups are all in a tizzy though, so just prepare yourself.”

“It’s supposed to be done tonight, right?” San adjusted his uniform one more time and moved to the time clock to punch in for his shift.

“Oh yeah, they’ve torn down all the temporary walls so you’ll have to stop by on your rounds. I’m jealous that you get to see it first.” Jongho chuckled and crossed his arms. “But thankfully it sounds like it’s going to be around for a long time, whatever this is.”

“Don’t you find all this secrecy suspicious?” San turned slowly and grimaced.

Jongho pushed his lips out in a little pout and looked up while humming. “Not really. When we got Tika a few months ago they kept things pretty hush hush too. I don’t think they want anything to be spoiled or leaked before the big reveal.” Jongho uncrossed his hands to wave them by his head while rolling his eyes. “Gotta impress the press and all that.”

San snorted and nodded in agreement. “Ok, I’ll give you that one.”

“Come on, let’s go for a walk before I have to leave.”

This was always a nice portion of the day for San. Even though he and Jongho still didn’t know a whole lot about each other, they were working on getting closer, and this was the only time San knew he’d have human contact throughout the night.

As soon as they left the employee area, San was blasted with the familiar and overwhelming scent of salt water and fish. It was something that had been off putting when he first started working here that San had almost turned around and walked back out. After a few weeks it was better, and now he hardly noticed it.

If anything, the hardest part for San about working here was that it made his thoughts drift back to his time with Wooyoung. Even though they hadn’t spent any time in the water itself, all those hours walking on the beach or combing through thrift stores while smelling the fresh, salty air was something that still stayed with him.

The hallway opened up into a large, round room lined with large tanks. Each was filled with brilliant variations of rock, coral, and seaweed and even more species of fish. More hallways branched off at either end that would lead to more exhibits, all of them making up the the Illusion Aquarium.

It was a huge attraction in the city, drawing in visitors from all over the world. Even scientists would come from all over to study here.

A lot of time had been put into making award winning exhibits that catered to the natural habitats for each species, and the scientists were the best in the industry, giving all their time to studying breeding, evolution, and conservation.

That was also why they kept security guards on site all hours of the day. There was an intricate security system that helped as well, but having and actual person on hand helped cover all bases.

A loud squeaking sound came from a room off to the right and San couldn’t help but laugh before walking in that direction with Jongho right behind him.

A large take took up one entire wall that had a deep area of water but also had a beach that was built leading up to a back corner.

As soon as he was noticed, San watched as a fluffy sea otter squeaked at him again and dove into the water to start doing back flips off the glass. “Hey Tika!” San placed his hand against the glass and the otter popped her head above the water to continue squeaking at him. “You’re wide awake tonight. You’re not going to cause me any problems, are you?”

San giggled when she started weaving through the water again before joining the other otters in her enclosure.

Tika had been the first otter brought in and the aquarium had slowly been working on getting more so that she had a large family to keep her happy. For whatever reason, she had taken a real liking to San and was very excited whenever she started her shift.

“Alright, I should go finish up my paperwork and clock out for the night.” Jongho said, glancing at his watch.

“Have a good night.” San patted the younger’s shoulder before moving on to check on the other tanks and all the front doors.

He was anxious to see what this new exhibit was so he went through a little faster than normal.

A new room had been built off the back of the main aquarium building just to house the new exhibit, and they had gone all out and built a shark tunnel to connect it.

San looked up and watched as several zebra sharks swam slowly overhead. In the corner a few moray eels poked their heads out from their rocky homes to observe him before wiggling back inside. And there were fish everywhere.

At the end of the tunnel, the take opened up into one of the most stunning displayed San had ever seen.

The entire room was round, making San immediately feel like he was inside a giant fishbowl, and every single part of it was lined with one continuous tank connected to the shark tunnel, minus one small portion that was cut out for a door that must lead to the employee entrance for the exhibit, but even that had the rest of the tank going over the top of it.

He could tell that the tank itself was huge, he could barely see the back walls, so they had allotted for something very big. Rock structures, seaweed, kelp, and coral had all been brought it to make it look like the sea floor.

San couldn’t believe his eyes. He felt his mouth fall open a little as he slowly turned in a circle to take it all in.

It was truly a spectacular exhibit. The aquarium had dropped a lot of money on it. Whatever they had much be incredible.

A muffled splash came from behind him and San turned around to see a cloud of bubbles at the top of the tank and a flash of purple dark behind a column of rocks. The diluted image of scientists peering into the tank from up top rippled with the disturbed water.

San walked closer to the tank, hoping to catch a glimpse of what the new creature was.

Another splash had him glancing to the surface once more and he noticed the scientists dumping in several buckets of dead fish into the water.

The zebra sharks all rushed forward to feed, along with some of the larger fish. San watched them for a moment, fascinated by the feeding frenzy that had started, but then he noticed movement around around the rock column.

He immediately grabbed his walkie talking to call for help when he noticed a delicate hand gripping the rocks.

The next sound he heard was the device smashing against the hard floor when he dropped it.

Pieces flew in all directions, but he didn’t care.

San watched in what felt like slow motion as the had pulled a very familiar body out from behind the rock. His hand was still hovering in the air in front of him, although it was trembling, along with the irregular beating of his heart.

The naked upper torso of a boy peered around the tank, then looked up at the surface. Purple hair swayed back in forth in the water. He looked terrified…

Then he started to move out from behind the rock, reaching one hand out for a stray fish.

That’s when San saw why this project was so huge, but he didn’t want to believe it.

The bottom half of the boy’s body was a long tail covered in purple and red scales.

San reached up to place a hand over the scale sitting against his chest.

And that’s when he was finally noticed.

Right when he moved his hand, the boy turned to look at him and brought a hand up to cover his mouth while shaking his head.

San was pretty sure he’d be crying if he wasn’t underwater. He could feel tears come to his own eyes and he took a step forward. He could feel his knees wobbling, threatening to give out any time now.

When he reached the side of the tank, San lifted his other hand up and pressed his palm against the glass right when the creatures swam forward sank to the sandy bottom, bending his tail as if he were falling to his knees.

He didn’t reach out to San. Instead he kept one hand over his mouth and wrapped the other around his stomach before bending forward.

San kept his hand pressed to the glass and crouched down.

“Wooyoung?”


	20. Chapter 20

Wooyoung spent most of the truck ride bent in half over his tail. He hated the restriction placed upon him. It was so cramped and the water was getting stale, to the point where it was starting to make him sick.

And if it wasn't the water, it was the crazy old man that spent more time talking to himself and watching Wooyoung's move than anything else.

He had no idea how long he spent being jostled around, but his anxiety spiked again when the truck finally came to a stop.

The merman sat up and watched as several men came and started rolling the tank back. His stomach dropped a little when he realized it was nighttime. He glanced at the sky, looking for the stars he had taken the time to study. A few managed to poke through, but there were so many lights elsewhere that most were hidden from view.

But to Wooyoung it felt like they were hiding from him.

He didn't get a lot of time to look around before the tank was suddenly turned on his side, forcing him out with the rush of water and sending him rolling across the ground.

A few of the men stopped him with their feet, then bent over to roll him onto another blanket before hoisting him up.

Wooyoung tried to find out where they were taking him, but all he could make out was white walls and bright lights.

"Let's get him in the main tank to give him time to acclimate. That pitiful thing was just a means to keep him alive for the drive. We must keep him in water as much as possible." The old man said. At least he knew what he was talking about...

It was only a couple of minutes before the group stopped and someone reached it to cut the ropes binding Wooyoung's limbs. He had half a mind to try and fight back, but he knew there was no point. So he let them pull the rope away.

Once more, one side of the blanket fell away and Wooyoung found himself suddenly rolling into more water.

This was so much better than the last time though. It was perfectly salty and he could instantly feel and taste how fresh it was.

He immediately flicked his tail to head toward the shadows, only to be met with a dark blue wall. It must have been designed to blend in with the water... Wooyoung let out a small whimper and ran his hands over it to try and find a gap or a hole or... anything.

Then he turned and noticed the schools of fish all around him. He swam forward to try and greet some, but they all flitted away from him, leaving him utterly alone.

Wooyoung clutched his stomach and moved over to a large rock formation to hide behind it. Now that he had been in here for a few minutes, his body was starting to process that this wasn't the water from his home and it made him shake a little in pain. He would be find after a few days, but his tail was noticeably duller at the moment. Although that could also be from the barbed net he had been trapped in.

Wanting to learn a little more about the place he was trapped in, Wooyoung placed a hand on the rocks in front of him to slowly pull himself forward to peer around the rock.

Just by watching the fish he could see that his space was limited. There must be another clear barrier keeping all this water in like what had held him on the way here. He noticed a few zebra sharks and stingrays gliding around, completely unbothered by anything else in the tank.

That is, until the men who had taken him dumped in a bucket of dead fish. It sent most of the bigger fish into a frenzy as they went to feed. Wooyoung's own stomach grumbled with need, but he wasn't going to give the humans the satisfaction of figuring out what he ate.

No matter how good the fish looked...

Even though it was against his better judgement, Wooyoung found his hand reaching out for a piece of fish that had drifted toward him, but a shark came by and snatched it away.

His eyes followed it for a moment, then he noticed something else.

Something that made had him shaking his head and covering his mouth.

San.

The human looked just as shocked at the revelation and they both moved toward each other.

For Wooyoung though... the pain was so much worse.

He had spent weeks telling himself he would never see San again, and for San to see him in this form...

The merman sank down to the sandy floor and doubled over his tail again. It felt like everything inside of him wanted to break free. He clutched his stomach and cried out into his hand.

Vibrations in the water told him that San had touched the barrier between them.

How was this possible? Why was he here?

Wooyoung found himself wishing this was just an awful dream. Any moment now he would wake up laying next to Mingi and Yunho... He had to.

After a few minutes, he slowly lifted his head and saw San staring at him with glistening eyes and the palm of his hand pressed to the barrier. He shook his head a little and started to speak. It was a muffled sound and Wooyoung couldn't understand him, but he knew that San was at least saying his name.

He opened his mouth to respond but thought better of it. There was no way to tell if his captors were seeing what was happening right now... And it was with that thought in his mind that Wooyoung started to look around the tank for signs of anyone else around them. He could feel his panic rising at the thought of someone seeing what was happening right now.

Wooyoung started to back away but San stopped him by tapping on the glass.

The human started to shake his head and then pointed at himself, then at Wooyoung. Then he slowly stuck his hand down his shirt and pulled out the scale Wooyoung had given him.

Wooyoung immediately let out a strangled sob and slapped both hands against his mouth.

He had kept it... San had kept the scale with him this whole time.

Finally closing the distance, Wooyoung swam forward with a flurry of churning sand to press both hands against the barrier.

San dropped the scale so that it hung around his neck and placed his hands in the same exact place.

As strange as it may be, it still felt like there was a little bit of a connection even though they weren't physically touching.

Wooyoung couldn't figure out what was on his mind right now. It was so chaotic and jumbled, but the one thing that kept forcing it's way forward was how good it was to be San again.

All that time mourning, all that time trying to forget... It was as if it didn't exist now because all the bubbly feelings and urges to touch him and kiss him had all slammed into him once more.

San continued to try to speak to him. His perfect lips moving with hurried and urgent words. Wooyoung felt so bad when he had to shake his head and motion to his ears.

He watched the human purse his lips in anger, then pull out his cell phone. His fingers flew furiously over the small device that Wooyoung found so fascinating before he held it up and pressed it to the glass.

Wooyoung's eyes darted over the words, which thankfully he understood because he had studied human language for years.

_'Are you ok? What is happening? I don't understand.'_

The only problem was that Wooyoung didn't know how to respond. He chewed on his bottom lip and then figured he could attempt to write it out in the sand, but then the muffled sound of something opening above him caught his attention.

Wooyoung gave one last pleading look to San, hoping to convey his fear and worry through just his eyes, before darting off behind a small rock structure covered in colorful coral.

He could still kind of see San swaying back and forth to try and see him, but Wooyoung was more focused on the giant metal device being lowered into the tank. It wiggled around a little, almost like it were some kind of sea snake, but where it's head would be was four long arms that kept opening and closing.

Wooyoung didn't like it. Everything in him told him to find a place to hide.

In his panic, he darted out from behind the rock to seek shelter behind a bigger one.

That was when the thing attacked him.

The arms opened up and grabbed him, wrapping around his entire body and trapping him inside. His tail hung from between two of them, and his head and chest were on the other side, but it hugged his sides so much that no matter how much he squirmed or flipped his tail, he couldn't get free.

Slowly, the merman was pulled up to the surface and out of the water.

He was left hanging and flailing for a moment before something strong and round wrapped around his tail.

Wooyoung cried out and tried to pull away, but there was a long pole attached to the round thing that a human was using to control it.

The man started to pull him closer to the platform and chuckled as Wooyoung continued to struggle. "If ya knew what's good fer ya, ye'd stop strugglin'," He grunted.

Another man approached with a similar ring, only this one was already opened and spread apart. He worked it around Wooyoung's torso and closed it so that Wooyoung's arms were pinned to his side. "There we go. Let's get him to the boss."

The first device that had pulled Wooyoung from the water let go of him, but his full weight was now supported by the two humans. They lowered him to the ground and proceeded to drag him across the hard floor.

They went down two separate hallways before more humans swarmed Wooyoung. They all started attaching things to his body, some on his forehead, several on his chest and stomach, and a few on his tail. Each one had strings attached to them that led to yet another human device that had several lines of flashing lights and moving pictures.

Wooyoung tried to make sense of it for only a moment before he was lifted and deposited into another box of water. This one was a little bigger than the first one he'd been in, he at least had room to swim around a little, but that was it.

"Thank you, boys." The older man from earlier said while approaching Wooyoung. "Sorry we couldn't give you very long, but you've got a very busy day of making us money tomorrow, so I need to run as many tests as possible on you now."

Wooyoung backed as far away from him as he could and looked down and the square things attached to him.

As soon as he lifted a hand up to try and remove one, the man tapped on the glass and shook his head. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." And evil sneer crossed his face. "Not that you'll understand this, but each one is infused with electricity. If it's removed in the wrong way, you're in for quite the nasty shock." He started to laugh, then motioned to one of the other humans in the room.

Wooyoung made sure to keep his movements slow, so that he could act confused, but he knew exactly what the man meant. And he did not want that to happen.

His heart raced as he looked around his new prison. Several men and women dressed in white kept circling him and writing down their observations. They would mutter to each other and nod or shake their heads, all while never taking their eyes off the trapped merman before him.

Thankfully nothing more happened, all Wooyoung had to do was sit there or swim around when one of them stuck a pole in to prod at him, but he knew he was in for some long days and unspeakable things awaited him in the days to come...

It was hopeless.

At this point, Wooyoung saw no way out.

This would be his new home for as long as the humans deemed it necessary to study him...


	22. Chapter 22

Nothing in his life had ever compared to the horror San felt when he saw the robotic arm pulling Wooyoung from the water. As confused as he was with everything he had just seen, he knew Wooyoung was in danger.

The first thing he did was reach for his walkie talkie, then he remembered it had shattered. He had no idea who it was he would have called anyway.

So he pulled out his cell phone and tried to call Jongho, but the room he was in had no service. He was so panicked right now that he didn't think about all the water and glass messing with the signal.

San glanced at the tank one more time before running down the tunnel and heading back to the employee break room.

He was just about there when another door opened and the aquarium director stepped out and San slid to a stop. "Ah! Choi San, I was just about to come find you. We have some things to go over."

San opened his mouth to try and protest, but this was only the third time his boss had sought him out since starting here, and despite what he just saw, part of him still wanted to make a good impression. He pressed his lips together in a thin line and nodded. "Of course, Sir, what is it?"

"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here so late." The older man flashed a teasing smile that made his face light up. His statement was true, he was hardly ever here while San was on duty.

The aquarium director, Mr. Choi, as ironic as that had been for both San and Jongho, seemed to be a nice man. He was wildly successful, all because of the aquarium, and was now one of the most well known men in their city. For being in his mid forties, he was very in-tune with every generation and had done a good job making sure his aquarium would be loved by everyone.

It hadn't come without it's stress though. His black hair was already peppered with white flecks and there were several wrinkles on his forehead. But the man always managed to have a smile on his face.

"I'm here," Mr. Choi continued, "to go over the new expectations with you. As you know, we've been setting up an exhibit that is going to be huge. Some of my men found something that is going to change the world as we know it. And," he placed both hands on San's shoulders to make sure they could face each other square on, "I'm counting on you to help me keep it safe. This is going to be your number one priority now, do you understand?"

San tried to swallow the lump of dread in his throat, but when he wouldn't move, he settled for just nodding his head.

"Good boy. I still expect you to do your rounds, but when you're not, you are either to be in the security room watching the cameras or by our new exhibit. I've set up an entire new system so someone breaking in through the back will be near impossible, but we can never be too careful. Come, let me show you."

The pair made their way back to the new exhibit built to contain Wooyoung. San's eyes immediately flicked to the open space where he last saw the boy, but there was no sign of him. San didn't know if he should be relieved or not...

"This is the main exhibit. I'm going to hire some extra guards during the day to help with the rest of the aquarium and make this Jongho's main station since he's my most senior guard. I may hire another one to help you at night too, but we will play that one by ear. But, as you can see, it's now the largest tank we have. Come." Mr. Choi motioned for San to follow and they went to the small door cut into the side of the tank.

San could feel his heart racing and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep calm. Sweat was starting to gather on his forehead and he could feel his fingers twitching at his side.

"Back here is an area I want you to patrol but not linger. We don't need you getting in the way. This is where all our scientists will work gathering information on the new specimen, and we are going to need to gather as much of it as possible so that we know how to better take care of it." Mr. Choi stopped and took a deep breath while puffing out his chest. "You know I've never been in this for the money, but... this is going to be our ticket to bigger and better things, my boy. I'll finally be able to upgrade my other tanks, get better filtering systems, higher quality food... You're going to help me, right?" Mr. Choi had the most hopeful and sincere look in his eyes that had San wanting to help him.

He had been treated so well since he had started working here. Everyone who worked at the aquarium was welcoming and truly loved working there.

But now he knew that all of this was to imprison Wooyoung, which San was still having a hard time processing exactly what he had seen earlier.

"San?"

"S-Sorry. It's just..." San rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's a lot to take in, I get it." Mr. Choi said as they continued to walk through the stark white back rooms of the aquarium. "But this is very important, San, and with the added responsibility you will also get a pay raise, a substantial one." He turned and looked back once more. "Can I count on you?"

San hesitated for a moment, but he nodded. "Yes, Sir." It nearly killed him to say it, but he figured if he could s gay on the inside then maybe he'd have an easier time figuring out what was going on.

"Thank you." Mr. Choi gave a kind smile and started walking again. "So as you know, this area has been used for all our testing and research, but we are going to work on upgrading our equipment back here too. If the specimen isn't in the tank then it will be back here. Those are the only two places in the entire aquarium so if it's missing an alarm will sound and shut down he entire building. Which is all controlled here." He motioned to a large, new control box located in one of the back hallways.

They spent the next almost hour going over all the control and different alarms that had been installed, and each new fact drove a knife deeper into San's heart. Dozens of new cameras had been added to the building and surrounding parking lots and alleys. Every entrance was given a new scanner for keycards and also required a retinal scan to get in. There were also several more locked doors which used a keypad and thumbprint to unlock.

San's head spun with all the new information, but thankfully he was given a small packet with all the information that he could review and memorize, along with his new keys, pins, and... his eyes widened when he saw what his new pay would be.

It was nearly doubled.

He instantly looked up at Mr. Choi and only received a wink in return before he was taken to the machine that would take his retinal scan.

When it was all over, San knew there was no way he was going to catch Jongho and he would feel awful for waking the younger up.

With the knowledge that he was now in charge of the entire nighttime security, San stopped by the security office to take a look at all the new cameras that had been installed. He really had a view of everything now.

There was Mr. Choi walking to his car. And on another screen was one of the nighttime feeders taking a bucket of fish to Tika and the other mammals they had. And there...

San gasped and covered his mouth with both hands.

The aquarium's scientists had Wooyoung in a smaller tank and were circling him like vultures. It looked like there were several machines hooked up to him as well.

And all San could do was stand there and watch.

How... How was this even possible? Wooyoung... a merman? There had to be some kind of mistake here. Mermaids weren't real. They were... stories and myths and...

There was one right in front of him on the camera.

Now that San thought about it, this did explain just how different Wooyoung had been the whole summer... How full of life and curious he was about everything, and how he still had an air of mystery around him.

Wooyoung was a merman.

And now he was being held prisoner by the aquarium San worked for.

What was he supposed to do now?

Part of San hoped that when he woke up tomorrow, he'd realize this was all just some super, crazy, elaborate dream.

But deep down, San knew this was real.

Hours passed with San either watching that one camera or pacing back and forth in the security room.

A couple of hours before opening, the scientists finally made their move. San watched from camera to camera as they moved Wooyoung, in a blanket or something similar attached to poles, back to the main tank to dump him inside.

San ran out of the room as soon as the scientists were gone.

When he reached the main tank, San slide to a stop right by the glass and started looking around for any sign of his friend.

A flash of purple caught his attention. San turned to see Wooyoung peeking out at him from behind a rock.

He looked terrified.

"Youngie." San stepped forward and placed his hand against the glass. "Oh, Youngie." He whispered.

It took a couple of minutes, but Wooyoung eventually swam forward and hovered in place so he could place his hand over San's.

It was all so surreal. But the one thing that San couldn't stop thinking about was how gorgeous Wooyoung was. Even with how scared he looked, there was some sort of inner beautify that radiated from him, to the point where it almost looked like he was glowing.

"How?" San said, his voice still in a low whisper.

Wooyoung looked away in shame. His tail moved gracefully below him, keeping him level while stirring up some of the sand beneath him.

San tapped on the glass to get his attention again. "Are you ok?" He asked, keeping his words slow.

The merman's shoulders rose and fell in a sigh, then he lowered himself to the tank floor. A cloud of sand billowed around him, which he let settle before writing in the sand.

_I'm scared._

"I am too. How is this possible?"

_Long story._

San pressed his lips together and let his forehead rest against the glass. Then he slid to the floor to be at eye level again with the boy who had captured his heart. "I missed you."

Wooyoung's lower lip trembled a little and he pressed himself as close to the glass as he could. His lips moved to form the words, "I missed you too," and San felt tears come to his eyes.

After a wonderful summer, full of so many happy memories and... a boy that changed San's life forever, he was so mad that they were separated by a wall of glass. San realized that, even though he still didn't fully believe it, he didn't care that Wooyoung was some mythical creature that wasn't supposed to exist.

He was still Wooyoung. The funny, adorable, charming, wondrous Wooyoung that he had missed so much.

That he loved.

As San stared into the beautiful honeyed eyes in front of him, he knew... he knew it was all true.

He loved Wooyoung. One summer, and he was head over heels for someone he now knew he didn't know anything about.

Slowly, San pressed his hand to the glass again. When Wooyoung was looking at him straight on, San's face hardened. "I'm going to get you out of here."


	23. Chapter 23

The hardest thing San had ever done, besides leaving Wooyoung behind on the beach, was leaving Wooyoung behind when he had to finish his job for the night.

He left promising to be back soon and only received a solemn nod in return, which made him feel even worse, but he needed to avoid raising any kind of suspicion.

It was difficult for San to attempt to finish his job for the night anyway. He kept constantly checking his phone, counting down the minutes until he could run out of there to talk to Yeosang.

When his shift was almost over, the morning security guard greeted him and was immediately pulled aside by Mr. Choi to debrief him. San stood rooted to the spot for along moment just staring at the door they had vanished through.

There was no stopping this now...

The moment he could finally clock out, San bolted out the front door and ran straight to where he knew Yeosang kept the car parked. He slammed into the side of it, bracing himself with his arms, and knocked on the window, which Yeosang rolled down.

"What are you doing?"

"No... time..." San tried to inhale but he was breathing too hard from running. "Park... hurry..."

Yeosang hesitated for a moment, but then pulled away and drove the main parking lot. He jogged over to where San was doubled over and still trying to catch his breath. "Are you ok? What's going on?"

San didn't waste any time answering him. He grabbed Yeosang's hand and yanked him forward as he ran back toward the aquarium.

"San!" Yeosang gasped but didn't put up any kind of a fight.

The younger flashed his badge at the door, foregoing the need for either of them to purchase a ticket to get in because the doors had opened mere moments ago.

He wove through the people filling in, ignoring the sounds of protest from anyone who had to step aside, and kept dragging Yeosang behind him until they got to the entrance of the new shark tunnel, which was where he slid to a stop.

The tunnel seemed to zoom out and get longer the more he stood there, but he suddenly didn't quite know what to say.

Yeosang squeezed his hand and leaned forward to catch his eye. "San? What's going on? You're scaring me."

"You don't even know the half of it." He mumbled. "Sangie... What you're about to see..." He choked on his words and shook his head. "I can't...

"San, whatever it is, I'm sure it's going to be ok."

The younger started shaking his head. "N-No... It's not." He placed a hand over his heart and gripped Wooyoung's scale. "S-Sangie..."

"Ok, take a deep breath. What is going on?"

"It's better just to show you... Hurry, before this place is swarming with people." San swallowed the lump in his throat and the pair of them started walking down the tunnel.

He kept his eyes peeled and noticed a flash of purple near the end of the tunnel. It made his heart skip a beat and he started to walk faster. When the area opened up into the large dome, he quickly scanned the area and was happy to see that no one had made their way here yet before running to the side and scanning the tank.

"Wow, so this is the new exhibit? What's in here?" Yeosang turned in a slow circle to take in the entire area.

But San only had eyes for the merman swimming toward him.

Wooyoung glanced around with a worried look before settling down in front of San while placing his hands on the glass.

"Oh my god!" Yeosang gasped behind him and clapped a hand over his mouth. "San?! What the fuck?"

San turned around the same time Wooyoung backed away from the glass and bit his lip. "I told you. Sangie, you have to help me get him out of here." He pleaded.

"Am I dreaming? Did I get in a car accident on the way here? San, what the fuck is this?!" Yeosang started shaking his head and backing away.

"Yeosang, please calm down. I don't have all the answers either. But, it's..."

"Wooyoung." Yeosang breathed. He stepped forward slowly and gazed at the merman through the glass with tears in his eyes. "What have they done to you?"

It took a moment, but Wooyoung slowly swam forward to hover before both of them. He glanced between them before finally settling on San.

They both moved toward each other and closed their eyes while pressing their foreheads to the glass.

San couldn't explain it, but it was almost like he could feel the connection again. When he opened his eyes, Wooyoung was biting his lip and studying him without blinking.

"What can we do?" Yeosang stepped forward and placed a hand on the glass as well. Wooyoung moved his hand over to match in while his cheeks turned a shade of pink. "San, I don't understand..."

"I don't either. I don't know if he can't talk in this form or what, so I don't know what happened. But I do know that my boss made it sound like they are going to study him. There was one point yesterday that he was literally dragged out of here by a giant claw. We need to get him out of here."

"How is this even possible?" Yeosang breathed.

"We can't get into that now. We need to talk to Jongho and get working on this." San looked back at Wooyoung and wished he could hold him. He looked so frightened and confused. "We are going to get you out, Woo."

The younger moved closer to the glass and looked at San with pleading eyes. His tail moved slowly beneath him, stirring some of the sand on the floor, while hundreds of fish swam behind him.

If it wasn't for the situation, San would think that it was a truly beautiful sight. It was so colorful and vibrant, and Wooyoung... he was stunning. Now that he was showing who he truly was, it was like San was seeing him in a whole new light.

Voices echoing down the shark tunnel pulled San's attention away from the boy he loved and he glanced over his shoulder. "Crap..."

Yeosang placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a tight lipped smile. "We will come back."

San nodded and gave Wooyoung one final look before letting his friend pull him from the tank.

.

.

.

.

Wooyoung watched San until he couldn't see him anymore. He debated following him down the shark tunnel too, but he changed his mind as soon as the first little girl ran into the main room.

The merman immediately spun around and dove behind the nearest rock to hide.

He could sense more and more people gathering in the dome. The sound of their talking was like a dull roar, muffled by the glass and the water.

This answered his question as to why he was placed in an area like this... he was now on display for the subject to come and gawk at when he wasn't being experimented on.

What was he supposed to do now?

Was he just supposed to hide like this forever, waiting for the next time he would be taken?

His chest tightened when he wished San would come back. He was so scared of everything...

A splash came from overhead and Wooyoung looked up to see a couple of humans in heavy suits slowly swimming down from the surface with long, sharp looking poles. They slowly swam over to him and jerked their heads to the side.

He knew they wanted him to move, but he could also hear people pounding on the glass and he was terrified to leave his safe place.

But when he didn't move, one of them jabbed at his tail. Thankfully he didn't get a good angle and the pole just glanced off it, but Wooyoung got the message.

He swam away from them and out into open water.

Silence fell over the crowd of people for several minutes while Wooyoung stared at them with wide eyes. Some of the kids started waving shyly while the adults leaned over and started whispering at each other.

Then they pulled out their phones and the flashing started.

Wooyoung shook his head and swam away from the glass wanting to hide again, only to be blocked by the humans in the tank with him.

He was stuck and all he wanted now was San...

This went on for several hours. Hundreds of new humans came to gawk and take photos of him while the ones in the tank rotated out to make sure he stayed visible.

Eventually Wooyoung gave up and found a rock to settle on where he could still be seen, but he was still a good distance away from the glass. The humans didn't seem to mind either.

The merman did his best not to spiral down a path of self pity, but it was hard for him to stay positive. He had been hoping to see San again sometime over the course of the day, but he also realized that San would need to rest at some point if he had spent all night at this strange place.

At one point, he let himself get distracted when a school of yellow tang came close to him. He reached out and made some soft chirping sounds. They swam close and brushed against his fingers in welcome.

It warmed his heart a little that even these caged animals could still find a connection with him.

The school started to swim closer, almost like they wanted to protect him, and that invited other fish to get closer to him too.

While watching the new world around him, Wooyoung also noticed one other thing.

There was someone who hadn't moved for a long time even as all the families came and went.

Wooyoung lowered his hand and stared back at the human. He looked tall, with a square face and shark jawline. Black, square glasses were perched on the end of his now and he was causally stroking his chin with a hand he had propped up by his other arm, which was wrapped around his stomach.

And if that wasn't intimidating enough, then the smirk he was giving Wooyoung was enough to make the merman shiver.

He didn't like the man, at all. There was something off about him...

The only thing that drew Wooyoung's attention was when Jongho stepped up to the glass, trying to act casual.

Wooyoung started to move, but Jongho held up a hand in front of his waist and shook it back and forth. He got the message and stayed where he was at. San must have talked to him because he was acting surprisingly calm, especially when he tapped his wrist and mouthed, 'later'.

The merman settled back onto the rock and looked down, once again feeling the weight of his situation wearing down on him.

There was a small spark of hope though. With Jongho, Yeosang, and San working to get him out, then maybe there was a chance they could free him and help him get home.

If only he could talk to San. That would make him feel so much better. He could almost remember what the human's voice sounded like, but with everything going on, that was slipping away.

And if not San... then Mingi and Yunho. He knew his friends had no idea what happened to him or the rest of the group and there would be no reason to worry about their whereabouts for a long time to come.

Wooyoung sniffed and picked at some of the algae on the rock below him, then started to scan the tank to figure out where he would sleep for the night.

If he even got to sleep... 

He knew there was a chance the humans would pull him out again, but he would deal with that when it happened.

Something shifted in the corner of his vision and Wooyoung glanced back at the space for the humans.

The man had moved closer. He tilted his head back, then turned it just slightly to the side when another man walked up to him and started talking.

The first said nothing, just listened, but then his mouth twisted up in a grin and he nodded, making the second man's eyebrows rise in surprise.

They shook hands, all while the man never once looked away from Wooyoung.

Whatever had just happened... Wooyoung knew it wasn't going to be good.

He prayed San would hurry and get him out of here soon.


	24. Chapter 24

Wooyoung was removed from his tank every night after the aquarium closed to the public, giving him hardly any time with San when the human first came on to start his shift.

But he was always the first place San stopped on his rounds. One night San explained exactly what his job was by having everything written down on a piece of paper and holding it up to the glass for Wooyoung to read. He had also explained how he was planning on using this to get Wooyoung out.

That fueled the spark of hope in Wooyoung that he needed to comply with the scientists, as he learned they were called, and letting them run their tests.

It was hard for hm to communicate with San, though, since he was only able to write out a few things in the sand. Even if he were willing to talk, San wouldn't be able to hear him anyway.

San did his best to also ask just yes and no questions that Wooyoung could either understand by reading his lips or hand signals, or that he would type out on his phone or write down.

Things were far from perfect, but the best part of Wooyoung's day were the few minutes he'd get with San at the beginning and end of San's shift.

Jongho also came to visit him often during the day, but they couldn't interact as much since there were other humans all around them. It was still a comfort to see a familiar face though, and Wooyoung had to admit that he did enjoy the way the children's eyes would light up whenever he swam by the glass to show Jongho that he was still ok.

If there was anything that kept him going through the day, it was the kids.

They always got so excited to see him and would looked at him with big, round, mystified eyes.

On days where he was feeling up to it, he would swim just to entertain them. They didn't understand the concept that he was a prisoner, nor did they do anything wrong.

But there were times that, if the night before was hard on him, Wooyoung would spend more time on his rock either sitting or laying down.

As much as he wanted to, he couldn't hide. There were always divers in the tank with him to make sure that he behaved properly. They were there to document things too, like when he would interact with the fish or eat. But more than anything they were a nuisance.

His worst days were when the man came back. He always came up to the glass and stared at him with predatory eyes that creeped him out. It took a few days, but Wooyoung was finally able to point him out to Jongho so he was aware of what was going on.

Unfortunately there wasn't a lot they could do about it, not right now at least.

It had all turned into a waiting game.

The worst night for Wooyoung came after he'd been there for a couple of weeks.

He had been nestled into the sand and leaning into the glass, waiting for San to come, when the claw plunged into the water.

The merman immediately pushed off the ground and swam for the rocks. Fish scattered around him, trying to get away from the strange object.

He dove for a natural opening beneath one of the boulders and squirmed his way inside. He hated the damn thing and his natural instinct was to run, even though deep down he knew there was no point.

The claw snaked back and forth in front of him, then dove into the sand to send it flying everywhere. It clouded Wooyoung's vision, making it so that he couldn't see the claw burrowing toward him until it was too late.

It grabbed him by his tail and dragged him from under the rock and toward the surface.

Right as San walked into the room.

Wooyoung reached for him, crying out when the tail jerked him back and forth for a second. The last thing he saw was San pressed against the glass before he was pulled out of the water.

"You'd think It would learn to stop fighting it by now." The head scientist said with a shake of his head.

Wooyoung whimpered as he hung there.

"Get It over here, let's get started." Another man said. He and two others reached out for Wooyoung with long poles with hooks on them that they used to bring him over to the platform. Once he was released from the claw, they lifted him onto a cart and wheeled him down the now familiar halls.

If it weren't for the fact that he was a prisoner here, Wooyoung would probably admire what the humans were doing here. He had witnessed on stitching up a seal that had been injured by a shark and there was talk about starting a breeding program for some rare fish they had managed to acquire that they would then work on reintroducing to the wild.

It was easy to see that the humans here cared about sea life. But it just made him wish they showed him the same level of care...

The humans took him into a new room that night and he was placed in a shallow pool. There was barely enough water to cover his tail, which flopped uselessly in his irritation.

Wooyoung brushed his wet bangs away from his forehead and slowly used his hands to lift water up and let it run over his skin to keep it wet.

"Alright, tonight we get into the bigger scans. Our new benefactor wants to know everything. It's crucial we find the answers he's looking for and he doesn't want us to hold back. We can't fail." The older scientist said.

He looked almost stressed, something that Wooyoung wasn't anticipating. It made him wonder just what the man who watched him wanted, because he guessed that's who the scientist was talking about.

Unfortunately, he found out quickly when on man came up behind him and grabbed his arms. The man held them behind his back and used his strength to keep Wooyoung from squirming too much while woman walked up with something metal in her hands.

"Stop struggling and this will be less painful." She warned.

Wooyoung glared at her and debated hissing just to see what she would do, but he figured staying silent would be best.

And he did, until a scream was forced out of him when the woman ripped one of his scales away from his body. She struggled with it too, prolonging the pain. Merfolk scales weren't made to come away easily, so she had to pull several times and twist it before she could pull it free.

Wooyoung did his best to stop her, but the way the man was holding him made it so that he didn't have a lot of leverage to get the momentum to pull his tail away.

Once she had her scale, the man let go of him and Wooyoung bent forward to inspect the new hole in his tail. Blood seeped from it, which was also collected into little vials.

He had half a mind to try and destroy everything in this room, but he knew that would be a bad idea. They had no idea that he had magical properties and if Wooyoung was being honest, he didn't know just how much he had access to with how long he had been away from his kind and his home. The magic tended to fade the longer a merman or mermaid was away from the rest of their pod, something about losing the connection was what Mingi had told him.

At the thought of his friend, Wooyoung closed his eyes and curled his tail around as if he were bending his knees when human. How long had it been since he was taken? Since he was unable to see outside, Wooyoung had lost all sense of time, especially during the traveling period between when he was first taken and here.

When he opened his eyes again, they fell on the wrist that he had been ready to decorate with the beautiful bracelet waiting for him. It suddenly looked and felt so empty.

Try as he might he couldn't stop the tears that came to his eyes. They fell silently with little 'plips' into the water while the humans busied themselves with analyzing his scale and blood, leaving him completely ignored.

Hours passed like this, and they were unfortunately filled with them taking six more scales.

The merman put up a fight with each one, but his strength was waning. It took too much of a toll on his body losing pieces of himself like this.

"Interesting. Look at this." One of the scientists said. Wooyoung glanced over at where the humans had gathered and felt his stomach flip a little. "I ground up just a little bit of one of It's scales and mixed it with some blood." He said. In his hands was a small, clear container with a glowing mixture in it.

It was magic mixed with magic, it was only natural for them to react to each other and this was a common base to a lot of potions that Wooyoung had learned. He knew exactly what to mix with that now to make a health cure, glue, or even something to kill plants.

And now the humans had gained their first glimpse into the secrets of his world...

The head scientist looked at him and smirked. "Excellent. Begin experiments with what we have. It's looking rather grim right now so we should give it some time to recover. Plus I want to see if It will grow back the scales or not, so use what you have sparingly and document everything. A full report is needed by the end of the week and I have to had over everything we have."

"Yes, Sir." Everyone else answered.

"Take it away."

Wooyoung was unceremoniously hauled out of the pool and taken back to the tank where they dropped him in the water.

He glanced up up at the surface for only a moment before turning to swim to the bottom of the tank. Every time he flicked his tail pain shot through it and a little bit of blood trickled out of all seven holes. Thankfully he was on good enough terms with the sharks in this tank that he knew they wouldn't attack him, plus they were fed enough that there was no reason for them to frenzy.

When he settled on his rock, a moray eel swam over and touched its nose to his tail before looking at him. Wooyoung held out a hand for it to nuzzle into and offered a small smile. He told the kind creature that he was ok and asked it not to worry, to which the eel gently slapped his arm with its tail.

Wooyoung giggled and sighed. The eel was right. He wasn't ok, and he wasn't going to be for as long as he was trapped here.

Several of the other creatures in the tank came to check on him as well. A few small crabs crawled up his tail carrying algae that they gently placed over the gaps in his tail to protect them. They clicked their claws when he thanked them before returning to the tank floor.

It was moments like this that helped him be a little grateful to be in a place similar to his home. He was still in touch with the ocean here, in a way, and it helped to settle his weary heart.

One of the zebra sharks even came by to brush against him and circle him a few times as a way to observe him before swimming away.

Wooyoung was so caught up in the sea creatures around him, all offering their condolences and passing on their worry, that he didn't see San come up to the glass and bring a shaking hand to his eyes before he laid down with his back to the glass to try and recover before having to continue on with his life behind glass.


	25. Chapter 25

To say that Wooyoung was merely beautiful was an understatement as he sat on the rock and interacted with all the sea creatures in the tank. He was... stunning, enchanting, magnificent, ethereal... and San couldn't take his eyes off the merman.

He wasn't even upset when Wooyoung didn't see him standing there before curling up to go to sleep. San felt like it was a privilege for him to even just witness the sight before him.

But when all the fish dispersed or started to slowly circle around the merman, the spell was broken.

San was stuck.

He was no closer to freeing Wooyoung and the merman had been trapped there for a couple of weeks now. The new security system Mr. Choi had installed was so advanced, San hadn't been able to find any way through it. The thing logged each and every time a door opened, and in the computer, if he clicked on that time, a screen would be pulled up that showed every single camera angle in the aquarium and parking lot.

The locks also required several passcodes, finger prints, and a retinal scan.

There was also an internal system that logged when every employee and scientist was supposed to be on the premise, so if San were to show up in the middle of the day he would be flagged and have to file a report as to why he was there.

Jongho didn't have any ideas either. He was constantly running systems checks since he had been promoted to head of day security to see if he found anything different than from at night when San ran his checks.

The only place in the building that wasn't on camera was the bathrooms, so both of them would slip in there to send texts to each other with what little information they could find. Which wasn't much.

One day Jongho had found an encrypted file talking about an new source of income for the aquarium and that the research on the mermaid was their top priority.

That was where the trail ended. All data on Wooyoung must be stored elsewhere that only the scientists had access to.

San had made that his main goal. He needed to get in and see what their plans were. It killed him to see Wooyoung in pain, especially tonight. Whatever the scientists had done... it was so much worse tonight than any other night.

Tomorrow was his day off, so San was planning on coming back during the day as a visitor to see if he could pick up on anything different. Jongho had mentioned seeing the same man visiting almost every day during the week.

When his shift was over, San got into Yeosang's car and let out a long, pained sigh.

"Still nothing?" Yeosang asked, as he did every morning.

"No... but we need to hurry. They are taking some of his scales." San pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What?" Yeosang's eyes widened and he gripped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles turned white. "Those heartless assholes."

"Yeah. Sangie, what are we supposed to do? I... I don't even know if he can-" San started waving his hands back and forth over his legs while making disgruntled sounds at the back of his throat.

"Have legs again?"

"Yeah." The younger slouched down in his seat. "And I can't even really ask him about it... I get less and less time with him every night."

Yeosang pulled away from the aquarium and tapped the wheel in front of him. "You really love him, don't you?"

"Is that crazy?" San whispered. He stared out the window and let his vision go hazy.

"Love is always crazy. But I do think you need to consider the fact that-"

"This isn't his world? Trust me, I have... I don't know what to do."

Yeosang reached over and took San's hand. "That's something that only you and Wooyoung can decide. I think he was just as attached to you as you were to him. There's a chance he loves you too."

San felt his face flush and he quickly turned his head a little further so that Yeosang didn't see it. He would be so happy if Wooyoung loved him back, even if it was impractical.

The next day San made sure to wear a ball cap and an oversized hoodie so he could pull the hood up around his neck. The less people that recognized him, the better.

He let the crowd pull him through the main part of the aquarium while he pretended to look at each exhibit. But really his ears were tuned into all the conversations happening around him, listening for any hint of news.

When he finally got to the dome he cringed when he saw how many people were crammed together to get a look at the new attraction.

Chewing his lip nervously, San tried to wait patiently for the crowd to clear. Especially once he saw Jongho standing over by the opening to the side door directing traffic. He made his way through the crowd and stopped next to the guard.

"Hey." Jongho's eyes flicked back and forth as he watched the crowd.

San rubbed his tired eyes and tried to suppress a yawn. "Hey, how's it going today."

"You picked a good day to come. The scientists are on high alert. I think whatever they did last night has them excited."

"Great..." San glanced over at the tank and felt his heart skip a beat when Wooyoung swam up to the glass and gave a sad smile to some of the kids. Cheers erupted and the crowd shuffled to accommodate the kids trying to follow Wooyoung along the glass.

His tail gracefully moved behind him, catching some of the lights in the tank and flashing brilliant shades of purple and red. He curved his body to swim toward the surface, then twisted around so he could sink back down a little.

With one simple, minuscule turn of his head, Wooyoung found where San was standing with Jongho.

They all knew not to react to each other, but it was hard to ignore the longing in Wooyoung's eyes.

The merman's gaze drifted out over the crowd and it froze on one more person before he flicked his tail and swam quickly behind some rocks to hide in a flurry of bubbles.

San stood up straighter and looked for what could have startled the merman. There was one man dressed in black slacks and a loose, black dress shirt standing in the middle of the room. He had one arm wrapped around his stomach to support his other arm, which was pointed toward his face so that he could rub his chin and neck.

There was a shorter man standing next to him. His hands were clasped respectfully behind his back and he was rocking almost nervously on the balls of his feet.

The taller leaned over to him to whisper something and the shorter's shoulders sank a little. He nodded and lifted one hand to run it through his light brown hair.

"That's them." Jongho whispered. San felt himself bristle and he clenched his fists at his side. "He is here almost every day and he will stand here for hours. I've never seen the shorter one before, he usually has a body guard with him. I-" Jongho stopped and both he and San turned when the door behind them opened suddenly.

The head scientist walked out, followed by two others, holding his head high and was sporting a triumphant grin. He raised his hands and clapped them over his head to gain everyone's attention. "Excuse me ladies and gentlemen! I'm sorry but we need to shut down this exhibit for some unfortunate maintenance. Please exit in an orderly fashion and we will do our best to reopen it as quickly as possible."

Several people started talking over each other to try and protest but Jongho immediately stepped forward and started forcing people to go. They couldn't argue with the uniform.

San stayed off to the side and pulled out his badge, which he had brought just in case, so that he could come up with and excuse to stay.

Jongho returned to his side after locking the gate at the far end of the shark tunnel. By then the scientists were already standing in front of the stranger in black and the man next to him. They were the only ones who had been allowed to stay.

A sinking feeling started to fill San. Whatever this was... it wasn't going to be good. He could see Wooyoung peeking out from behind a rock in the background.

"Well?" The man in black asked. His voice man San shiver. It was so intimidating yet... smooth and velvety at the same time.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. We have a few tests running, but I think we may have discovered what you are looking for." He held up a clear bowl filled with a glowing, deep purple substance. "This is only one version. We have several combinations in the back that we are running experiments on to discover uses for them, but you were right. There is power here, and the possibility for- for- for cures and advancements in technology and- I can't even begin to get into it!"

The man smirked and took the bowl in his own hands. Then he dipped his first two fingers in it and spread the substance around with his thumb.

It was... glowing even brighter now. San was stunned, especially when it looked like it was almost swirling...

"What is it?" The man asked. He handed the bowl to the shorter man next to him, who started examining it in the same way.

"A mixture of It's scales and blood."

San's eyes widened and he nearly ran forward to pummel them all to a pulp right there, but Jongho held out an arm to stop him.

"You didn't harm It, did you?"

The scientist sighed and clasped his hands behind his back. "Not much, but you know there are things that need to happen if you want us to continue this research."

"And have you figured out what this will do?"

"In that form, we aren't sure yet. But we have discovered that if you add a little algae to it, it will heal small scraps and cuts when rubbed into the skin. If you add dried starfish it hardens into something not unlike pencil lead." The scientist pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and opened it to reveal writing in purple lettering.

"Fascinating." The man in black whispered. Then he stepped up to the glass and tilted his head back. Wooyoung watched him nervously from behind his rocks. The end of his tail could be seen floating in the water on the other side. He flicked it nervously and dug his fingers into the rock.

A few eels emerged from the tank and started to circle the base of the rock in an almost protective manner.

San knew exactly what was going on, but everyone else stared in wonder as the sea creatures fed off Wooyoung's distress.

One of the zebra sharks charged at the glass and turned just in time to slap it's tail against it. The dull thud felt like it echoed in the dome. A couple more did the same thing until the man backed away from the glass. After that they circled around Wooyoung.

"Incredible." The head scientist said. "I've never seen anything like this, it's like... they are protecting It."

"This is the first time this has happened?"

"Yes. Normally they've all kept to themselves. I wonder if they are just used to It being here now? Let's get some divers in there and see what happens."

The other scientists looked hesitant, but they hurried into the back room to follow orders.

"Are you pleased?"

The man in black stayed silent for a long moment while the shorter one fidgeted next to him.

"Yes. Keep up the good work. I expect more results soon." The three men turned and bowed to each other.

The scientist beamed and straightened his jacket before motioning to Jongho to go unlock the gate. While he did, he kept his eyes on his guest. "The pleasure is all mine, Mr. Park."


	26. Chapter 26

San ended up hanging around the aquarium until Jongho finished his shift even thought he was completely exhausted. He really shouldn't have flipped his schedule like this, but he was starting to get desperate.

The drive home was filled with a seething silence. Jongho continuously rapped his fingers against the steering wheel and would let out several harsh sighs as his thoughts churned in his head. "Why does it have to be such a common name." He finally growled.

"You didn't recognize him at all? I mean, besides the fact he's been visiting so much?" San asked. 

"I mean, he does? But he could just have one of those faces. I just can't seem to think of anything or anywhere I know him from..."

"I'll try to do some research and see what I can find." A yawn took over the sentence and San stretched in his seat.

"No, what you need to do is get some sleep. I put in for you to be off tomorrow night too." Jongho held up a hand when San started to protest. "Things aren't going to change after just one night, and you've been working yourself to the bone. Take a three day weekend, get some rest, and I promise I will keep an eye on Wooyoung for you."

"Bu-"

"You are not going to be able to save him if you're dead on your feet."

San snapped his mouth shut and sank into a little pout. He knew the younger was right, and he had a feeling Yeosang was waiting at home to tell him the same exact thing.

If this was really going to happen, then he was going to take advantage of the free time to do as much digging as possible.

He was right about Yeosang. After ushering both him and Jongho inside with the promise of dinner, he immediately rounded on San. "How could you be so irresponsible? San you look awful!" He pushed the younger toward the couch and made him sit down. "I know getting Wooyoung out is important, but we know where he is and that he's relatively safe. You need to take care of yourself."

"Yes, Mom." San muttered but he allowed Yeosang to pull his shoes of.

"You're damn right I'm going to 'mom' you if you're going to do this to yourself!" He threw his hands up in frustration before storming into the kitchen.

Jongho laughed from where he was leaning against the wall. "Damn he's scary."

"You're the one who wants to date that." San smirked when he saw Jongho turn bright red and pull out his phone to distract himself.

With a sigh, he laid down on the couch and let his arm fall over his eyes. The darkness was a welcome thing that had him slipping away from the horror that was his reality.

But then it started to fill with swirls of blue and purple and red. They slowly formed into the body he had come to know so well. Wooyoung bobbed up and down in front of him, bubbles floating lazily around him, with a large smile on his face.

There was no sounds, but San watched as he giggled and waved at him before flipping over backward.

Oh how San longed to be with him. He was right there, within reach, and yet still so far away.

Without realizing it, a tear escaped the corner of San's eye and rolled down his cheek. He let it happen, savoring it against his skin in a weird, twisted way.

"San?" Yeosang placed a gentle had on his arm.

"What if we never get him out?" San said. His voice was hoarse and barely above a whisper. He knew he barely moved his lips but somehow Yeosang understood him.

"Don't give up. We will find a way." His friend said. "Did you find out anything today?"

Jongho huffed and pushed himself off the wall. "Kind of? The new benefactor is a Mr. Park, but we weren't able to get any other information about him. The scientists are upping their studies though. They mention that..." The younger hesitated, "They took some of Wooyoung's blood and scales and said they had special properties."

"Those sick bastards. We aren't going to let them get away with this. San, you get some rest, I'll do some searching and try to compile a list of the upper class Parks to see if we can narrow down some suspects."

San just nodded under his arm. He could feel himself drifting...

Right into Wooyoung's open arms.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_"Everything is going as planned."_

_"Yes. It's perfect. I can't believe they found one in such good condition." The man in black smirked from the back seat of his limo. "It's so close I can taste it."_

_"I'm happy for you, Sir."_

_"Oh come now," he leaned over to press the button which closed the partition separating him and his assistant from the driver. "You could be a little happier. This is your accomplishment too."_

_"I only did it for you."_

_The man in black moved closer to his assistant and slowly raked his fingers through the soft, light brown hair. "Always so formal. He can't hear you through the partition." His hand moved to cup the other's chin and tilted it back. "I know you love how powerful I am."_

_His assistant's eyes quivered slightly before giving a reluctant nod._

_"And once we figure out the key to all of this, then I will be the most powerful man in the world." The man's voice dropped to a low growl before he started kissing along the other's jaw. He didn't care that he could feel his assistant tense beneath his touch or that a small whimper could be heard when he found the sweet spot he was looking for on his assistant's neck._

_He continued running his lips and tongue over the sweet skin before him the entire drive home, all the way through the ornate iron gates and into the large covered garage._

_When he door opened, his assistant scrambled out and waited diligently for him to exit as well, then the two of them made their way to the elevator._

_The man pressed the down button and clasped his hands behind his back. It took five minutes for the doors to open again and allow them access to his most prized possession._

_"Ah, welcome back Sir. How is the Asset doing?" A young woman asked from her desk by the door. The earpiece she had on flashed a couple of times, but she waited for an reply before answering the incoming call._

_"Well, thank you. Any messages?"_

_"No, Sir. And everything is normal down here."_

_The man nodded and kept walking down the hall. It eventually opened up into a large room that he had custom built to support all his needs._

_A cruel smile crossed his face while he slowly made his way over to a rather small tank in the corner where a mermaid with faded green scales was curled up. It was all the room she was allowed. He couldn't have her struggling and breaking free now, could he? Several tubes were hooked to her arms and were filled with her red blood, which was all being funneled to a separate area to be cooled and stored._

_Four more tanks lined the wall, each holding their own defeated merman or mermaid._

_It was a collection he was proud of, for he was one of the few people who knew of the creature's existence, and the amazing uses for their magic filled bodies._

_That was a secret that had been passed down through his family, although the process on how to actually use it had been lost. But he was determined to bring it back._

_"Check them." He said._

_His assistant hurried to each tank and jotted down the numbers on each little screen. "All the same, Sir." He answered after a few minutes._

_"Good. You heard what the scientist said. I require scales from each of them. Make sure it's done." He said as he walked over to a man with faded yellow scales on his tail. "And make sure to up the nutrients. This one looks thin."_

_"Yes, Sir."_

_"When will the next tank be here?"_

_"In a few days. They had to special order the parts you wanted to make everything work properly."_

_"Very well." The man sighed and turned to look at the empty spot on the other side of the room. He had ordered a larger tank for the merman waiting for him at the aquarium. Part of the deal he had with that place was that he would fund the research being done there for years to come, but at some point he would come and take the merman for himself. The director had tried to argue with him on it, but every man had his price, and the director crumbled easily once one more zero was added to the check._

_With a dark chuckle, the man reached over and pulled his assistant to his side and squeezed his ass. "Soon. I can feel it."_

_"Y-Yes, Sir. Soon you'll have everything you want." There was a little hesitation in his assistant's voice but he let it slide. It was cute how flustered he would get, so to some extent that made it worth it._

_The man used his other hand to tilt back his assistant's head by his chin and dipped down to capture his lips in a hungry, lust driven kiss. "I know something I want right now." He growled._

_His assistant shuddered but didn't move away. He knew better than to do that._

_"Excuse me?" The woman from the front said hesitantly from the edge of the room. "It's the aquarium. They... have some concerns." She kept her eyes on the floor, avoiding the scene in front of them._

_The man just scoffed. "They always have concerns. The fools don't know what they are doing. Most of the animals there are miserable, you can see it in the way they lazily drift about in their tanks. Take a message."_

_"I already did. They want you to call them. But it sounds like the Asset is causing some issues tonight."_

_"Well, I can't really blame It after they ripped scales away from It's body." The man continued to rub circles in his assistant's ass and smirked when he saw how red and uncomfortable he was. "Just tell them to call me if anything serious happens."_

_"Yes, Sir." She bowed and hurried away._

_"Now, where were we?" He purred, capturing the delectable lips below him. A small whimper of protest joined the motion, but he didn't let that stop him. "How about we move this back to my room? I want to hear you scream, Baby."_

_"P-Please, Sir. I h-have work to do."_

_"Someone else will do it. You work for me, remember?" The man dipped his hand down the back of his assistant's pants to run a finger over his entrance. "I tell you what to do and when."_

_"Of c-course, Sir." His assistant closed his eyes and bit his lip before jerking his hips a little._

_"We have a lot of celebrating to do. Soon I will be the most powerful man in the world, and you will serve me dutifully. Together we will never have to worry about anyone else telling us what to do, or how we should live our lives. How does that sound, Precious?"_

_His assistant looked up at him with hazy eyes. They always got that way when he started making promises, entrapping the poor boy even more. "That sounds g-good, Sir."_

_"Of course it does, you greedy little thing." The man said with a chuckle. "That's what got you into this position in the first place." He watched the man in front of him swallow and bite the inside of his cheek, confirming his words. "But don't you worry. I will make sure you're taken care of."_

_"Thank you. I will always serve you."_

_"Oh my precious, Hongjoong. I know."_


	27. Chapter 27

Wooyoung couldn't take it anymore. He was in too much pain and he didn't want to give the humans anymore of himself.

So that night, when he was once more grabbed by the claw, he decided to fight back.

He allowed the thing to pull him above the surface of the water, but when he got close to the humans, he hissed angrily at them and swiped at them with his fingers. His nails weren't long or deadly by any means, but it was enough to make the humans cry out and jump back.

The one controlling the claw was startled enough that he accidentally pressed the button that opened it.

Wooyoung fell back into the water with a huge splash and he instantly darted for the tunnel so they couldn't catch him as easily.

He heard the claw enter the water behind him again and concentrated on finding his magic. It was a risk, but he needed to do something...

Once he slipped into the narrowed tunnel, the merman pressed himself against the rock wall and made himself as flat as possible.

A few of the bigger fish and moved to protect him as well, acting as a shield against the claw.

The contraption was a formidable foe though... it snaked its way into the tunnel and stopped right in front of Wooyoung, then clicked its claws a couple of times.

Wooyoung shook his head in defiance and searched within himself. It was hard. It had been so long since using his magic he could feel that it had sealed itself away. But he wouldn't give up.

The claw slowly moved closer and as it moved to grab him, Wooyoung threw his hands up in front of his face and a small, invisible barrier appeared between him and the claw.

If anyone was watching, it would merely look like the claw was too big to be able to grab him with where he had placed himself.

Then something surprising happened.

A few of the zebra sharks and other species of sharks stated attacking the snake-like part of the claw. They ripped at it with their teeth and pulled chunks of it away.

The humans were quick to recall it and Wooyoung knew it was only a matter of time before they appeared in the tank themselves to try and take him out.

A ripple in the water caught his attention and the little crabs who had helped him earlier appeared carrying a longer, pointed rock.

Wooyoung dropped to the sand and held out his hands for the crabs to scuttle onto and he deposited them on the rock wall for their protection after taking the pointed rock for himself.

With a nod, Wooyoung started swimming out of the tunnel. He would be cornered if he stayed in there, at least in the open tank he had room to maneuver and try to get away.

The sharks stayed close by his side, rubbing against his tail and arms for a brief second before circling him.

Several splashes alerted him to the humans and Wooyoung tightened his grip on the rock. Each one had the long poles they used to restrict his arms and tail, giving them the advantage with distance, but Wooyoung knew he was faster.

What he wasn't expecting, though, was for one of them to pull out a little, palm sized black box that, when they pushed the button on top, emitted a sound that immobilized everything thing in the tank.

Wooyoung immediately seized up and dropped the rock to slam his hands over his ears. He couldn't even scream. Whatever the high pitched frequency was, it trapped him within his own body.

All of the fish and sharks floated around in the water, unable to move as well, while the humans quickly came and grabbed Wooyoung with their poles. Once he was contained, the human holding the black box let go of the button and all of the fish wriggled to life again and quickly darted away.

The humans were able to easily drag Wooyoung from the water now. He was too scared to try and fight back and... he hated that they had harmed the other creatures too...

"Big mistake." The head scientist growled when Wooyoung was deposited on the platform. He reached down to grab the merman's jaw and squeezed until Wooyoung cried out in pain and tried to pull away. "No water tonight. Let's see what It does with that."

Wooyoung felt his heart beat faster and he did his best to pretend he didn't understand what the man had said. A night with no water would potentially kill him.

When he was lifted off the ground, it took everything in him not to cry and call out for San. He wanted to see his human so much... Why hadn't San tried to free him yet? And Jongho?

After a few moments, he we dumped into an shallow, empty tank with a painful thud. His body felt so heavy without water to keep him buoyant. And it didn't help when the humans descended in him immediately and started pulling scales from his tail again.

"Let's take a skin sample tonight." The head scientist said with a sneer. "Get a tray below him to catch his blood too."

Several men wrestled with Wooyoung so that one arm was tied behind his back, with a rope that was looped around the end of his tail so that he was immobile, while his other arm was pulled from his body so that most of it hung over the side of the tank. A role was tied around his wrist and anchored to the wall, making it so that he couldn't bend it at all.

Then one approached with a knife and carved a small piece of flesh from his forearm. It was no bigger than his thumbnail, but Wooyoung screamed the entire time and flopped uselessly in the shallow tank. Blood started to ooze down his arm and drip into the tray they had provided.

And then he was left there. Wooyoung could already feel himself drying out...

He was in for a long night.

Especially when he heard the humans talking about making new combinations. They were searching for something. Some kind of miracle only he could provide.

It terrified the merman. If they discovered whatever it was they were looking for, he would never be free. Especially once they figured out that his scales would grow back. The missing skin he wasn't so sure about... but his tail was an endless supply of magic.

He glanced down at the new holes in his precious tail. The purple sheen he was so proud of was faded and pale. So was the red that made up the bottom of it, although right now it was hard to tell what was natural red, and what was blood.

It didn't take long for him to be lying in a pool of his own blood too... which the humans came to scoop out for their use as well.

After while, Wooyoung could feel his strength fading. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his eyes open.

A single tear slid down his cheek when he thought about how much he wanted to be home right now.

It was a matter of seconds before a scientist harvested that as well...

Mingi signed for what was probably the thousandth time that night since he had tried settling into bed. Yunho was pressed against his side with one arm wrapped around his stomach and head resting in his shoulder.

But for the first time that only provided a small comfort.

Wooyoung was supposed to return two days ago with the other members of their pod. Or, that was the soonest he could have returned at least. They always gave a window for any detours or incidents that might have happened, but when the convoy didn't make an appearance Mingi instantly had a sinking feeling fall over his shoulders.

It didn't help that the number of tiger sharks in the area was still on the rise so almost of his day was spent trying to figure out what had caused the change. Protecting his people was his priority, especially since it would rest solely on his shoulders soon.

They had also expected representatives from other pods to start arriving any time now. His father was only getting worse. Most days he could barely carry on a conversation with Mingi.

They were running out of time.

When Mingi signed again, Yunho shifted next to hun and lifted his head up. "Min, if you don't stop sighing you're never going to sleep."

"I'm sorry, I just..."

"I know. I'm worried about him too." Yunho lowered his head back down and hugged Mingi tighter. "But he's still within the window." The way Yunho's voice tapered off made Mingi think that there was more to be said, but the unspoken statement weighed heavily on them.

Wooyoung was smart. He would be ok.

But when three more days passed and no one came back from the convey or arrived from other pods.

Now Yunho was starting to worry too. He spent several hours a day by the front gates staring into the open ocean.

And uneasy silence fell over their entire pod when mates didn't come home.

But the biggest surprise came two days later when a messenger arrived inquiring about the health of their king.

Mingi received him in the throne room. His entire body was tense with stress and he couldn't stop tapping his fingers against his scales.

"Your Highness." The visiting mermaid greeted with a bow of her head. "I come with a message from Pod Pearling. Our queen wishes to know how your father is doing. It has been awhile since we've received an update and she has expressed her concern." The guards who accompanied her nodded their heads as well.

The Prince felt like he was being sucked into the abyss at her words. Pearling was supposed to be the second stop on the convoys journey... "I- Y-Your queen isn't w-with you?" He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

Everything slowed down as the mermaid shook her head. "No..."

"We... We sent a convoy with a s-summons... two months ago."

The mermaid lifted a hand to cover her mouth. "We never received it. And we stopped by Kelpa Pod to stock up in supplies before coming here. They hadn't heard of any updates either."

Mingi couldn't stop the strangled cry that came from him at her words. He sank to the sea floor and covered his mouth with both hands.

Yunho was by his side immediately, embracing him with all the strength he possessed.

"This entire time..." Mingi whispered into his mate's shoulder. "He's been missing since the very beginning..."

"I know..." Yunho forced out. A few more guards gathered around them, as well as the staff working in the palace that day.

"I'm so sorry." The mermaid offered. "I wish I didn't have to bring such poor news to you." She spoke with a gentleness to her that made Mingi understand why she was a messenger for her pod. "I know my queen well, I'm sure she will offer whatever help you may need."

"I just n-need to find them." Mingi almost choked on his words and he forced his eyes closed. "Y-Yun... organize a search party. Take as many as you can"

All Yunho had to do was look at his guards for them to hurry off and begin preparations. Time was of the essence now. Every second they delayed put the chances of them not finding anything further at risk.

Although it had been two months... Mingi's stomach churned at the thought, so much so that he was afraid he would throw up.

Two months.

Members of his pod had been missing for two months and he had no idea...

And now he didn't know what he would do if they couldn't find them.

Wooyoung... He didn't know if he would ever be the same if he couldn't find Wooyoung.


	28. Chapter 28

An incessant buzzing is what woke San up from the beautiful dream he was having. And it pissed him off. He and Wooyoung had been enjoying time on the beach together, like they were during the summer. It felt so real…

But the buzzing wouldn’t stop, so San slapped his hand down in his phone with a groan, then pulled it to his face so he could answer with a groggy. “Hello?”

“San you need to get here now.” It was a Jongho.

The urgency of his tone made San sit up right away. Adrenaline courses through him at lighting speed and he was stumbling out of bed before he even managed to speak again. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know, but he doesn’t look good.”

“YEOSANG!” San shouted away from the phone. “We are coming.”

“They have the exhibit closed today so bring your badge.”

San grabbed it as he spoke and finished tugging a sweatshirt over his head, then yanked on a pair of jeans.

Yeosang ran into the room already dressed and holding his keys. “Ok we are on our way.” San hung up and the pair of them ran to the car.

They sped the entire way to the aquarium. San had already accepted that he would get out and run if they got pulled over, but thankfully they didn’t.

He flashed his badge at the front entrance and pulled Yeosang behind him, saying he was a guest today to the person checking tickets and not giving him any time to respond.

Jongho’s shift had started about midday, so there were a lot of people they needed to get through. When they reached the entrance of the shark tunnel, they ducked under the yellow tape closing it off and ran down the hall.

San slid to a stop in the main dome and felt everything within him shatter. 

Wooyoung was laying in the sand with his back to the glass. There were more noticeable holes in his tail from more scales being taken.

Several of the fish were swimming around him slowly, as if shielding him or even just being there to comfort him. A few crabs were also crawling along his tail.

“He’s been like this since I got here.” Jongho said. “I tried to get his attention, but he won’t move.”

San stepped forward and placed his hands on the glass. “Youngie?” He tapped gently, hoping the merman would turn around.

He didn’t.

“What do we do?” Yeosang asked, his voice shaking a little.

Jongho stepped closer to him to loop an arm around his shoulders.

San, on the other hand, felt his anger rising. He looked around the tank for anything he could use. That’s when he noticed the platform wavering on the other side of the water. “Are there cameras in there?”

“No, just the hallways.” Jongho answered.

“And does anyone besides us check the cameras on a daily basis?” San turned to look at the younger with a hard glare.

Jongho’s eyes lit up and he quickly shook his head.

“Keep them out of the cameras. We are getting him out of here. Today.”

“San… how are we supposed to do that?” Yeosang asked.

“I don’t know, but go back to the car and pull it around. We are going to have to be quick.”

“We are going to be criminals…” Jongho whispered.

“If they ask you anything just tell them it was all me.” San held up his hands when the other two tried to protest. “I won’t let you take the fall with me, but I can’t see him in there anymore.” He paused for a moment, then locked eyes with Yeosang. “I love him.”

His friend nodded and ran forward to hug him, crushing him with how tight his grip was. “Be careful.” He whispered before hurrying back down the tunnel.

“This is crazy, you know that right?” Jongho said. “There’s no guarantee this will work.”

“We have to try. Keep them away from the camera room and out of the hallway if you can.” San placed a hand on Jongho’s shoulder and gave him a grim smile. “I’m sorry for dragging you into this.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for, even if I didn’t know you I wouldn’t have liked this.”

With one more nod between them, they both ran to the door for employees and Jongho let them in. He made a beeline for the monitoring room and San took a sharp right for the elevator that led up to the platform.

When he reach it, he looked at the scuba gear lined up for use but decided that would take too long to put on. So instead, he kicked off his shoes, took a deep breath, and dove straight into the water.

It had been such a long time since he’d been swimming, he’d forgotten just how heavy he felt while trying to pull himself through the water. Especially once the pressure started to build as he swam deeper.

His lungs were already screaming at him for air, but he would push through it.

He had to.

The fish in the tank all parted around him, except for the sharks. They continued to circle around Wooyoung, , but thankfully showed no sign of attacking him.

As he drew closer to the ground, San swung his legs under him and he pushed up against the water to force himself against the sand.

Wooyoung had his face buried in his arm and had shown no sign of moving…

When San touched down, the sand around him stirred enough that it caught the merman’s attention. He slowly lifted his head up and San watched as his eyes widened in slow motion. He reached out to cup Wooyoung’s cheek and smiled at him

But then his lungs started to scream at him even more, so he looked at the surface. Wooyoung instantly knew what he needed and hooked his arms underneath San’s shoulders, and with two mighty pushes of his tail, they were rocketing toward the surface.

San gasped deeply when they broke through and he flailed his arms a little to try and keep himself above the water. He grabbed the edge of the platform and held onto it while trying to catch his breath.

Wooyoung gracefully bobbed next to him, his eyes still wide in disbelief. “S-S-San?”

Hearing his voice brought instant tears to San’s eyes and he let go of the platform to embrace the beautiful merman in front of him, not bothered at all when they slipped below the surface again.

They floated there, with the help of Wooyoung’s tail, for several seconds before going above water once more.

“Am I dreaming?” Wooyoung whispered. It was his turn now to gently hold San’s face. Their bodies were pressed together and that’s when San realized he had his free arm wrapped around Wooyoung’s waist to keep him there.

He never wanted to let go again.

“No, Baby, you’re not. I’m here to get you out.” He beamed when Wooyoung looked like he was about to cry and flung his arms around San’s neck. He let his hand travel higher to spread across Wooyoung’s upper back. “I’m sorry I took so long, I was trying to find a safe way to do it but…”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Can you…” San paused, suddenly unsure on how to ask how Wooyoung had legs before. “Um… Can you transform?”

The couple pulled away from each other and Wooyoung’s forehead creased with thought. “I don’t know… I haven’t used magic since they caught me.”

San raked his fingers through the merman’s wet, purple hair and shook his head. “You have to try. It’s going to be the best way to get you out.” His eyes flicked over Wooyoung’s face and he stated to worry about just how tired Wooyoung looked.

It took a couple of seconds, but Wooyoung clenched his jaw and nodded before closing his eyes. The look of concern that crossed his face looked almost painful, but San forgot about that immediately once the water around him started to glow purple.

It was Wooyoung’s tail… it was… glowing!

San swam back a couple of paces to watch as the water even stated to bubble.

Wooyoung let out a small whimper and slipped below the surface for a second. He came back up before San had a chance to dive under, but he looked like he was fading.

“You can do it, Youngie.” San urged. He wanted to reach out and touch him, hug him, anything to show support, but he was too scared he would ruin it.

After a few more seconds, there was a blinding flash of light. San covered his eyes with his arm, then lowered it.

Wooyoung was gone.

San inhaled and dove below the surface to see Wooyoung flailing his arms and… legs. He had legs again! But he had no idea how to swim with them. San quickly swam down to grab him and help him up, then the two of them clambered onto the platform and flopped onto their back while breathing heavily.

It didn’t take long for Wooyoung to turn and curl into San’s side, sobs shaking his entire body. The merman miraculous had a pair of shorts and a t-shirt on, which San would as him about later. The pair held onto each other as tight as they dared and just enjoyed the moment.

All good things have to end at some point though, and San knew they were playing with fire. So he lifted his head up and grabbed Wooyoung’s chin to make him look up too. “Come on, we can’t stay here.” He moved to stand and started walking toward the elevator, but Wooyoung cried out and feel back to the ground behind him.

The merman’s new legs wobbled dangerously. There was no way he was going to walk out of here.

San quickly spun around and crouched down. “Climb on.”

Wooyoung did as he was asked and San stood up, stooping forward a little, to carry Wooyoung on his back. When they were in the elevator, Wooyoung nuzzled his nose against San’s neck. He could feel the boy shaking behind him, so he tilted his head to return the gentle gesture while they still had a few seconds. “Keep your head down and hold on tight, ok? We are probably going to have to make a run for it.”

He felt Wooyoung nod once right before the elevator opened.

As soon as he stepped out, San kept his head angled down to make it harder for the cameras to see who he was. He walked with a purpose, acting like he was supposed to be here and that this is what he was supposed to be doing.

No one was in the hallway right now, but that could change any second.

He decided to take the most direct path to the exit. It was a little riskier, but the faster they could get out of here, the better.

“S-San…” Wooyoung whispered. He was still trembling but his arms grew looser around San’s shoulders.

They would never get out of here if Wooyoung collapsed.

San swore under his breath and started jogged. The action made a lot of noise that he knew would draw attention to him, but he didn’t care.

One more right turn and the exit was it sight.

“Hey! What are you two doing back here?” Someone called from behind him.

San didn’t hesitate. He hoisted Wooyoung up a little higher and ran as fast as he could with the extra weight on his back.

“Stop! Someone stop them!”

Suddenly Jongho appeared a few meters in front of them wearing a hat and ran straight into the door to open it.

Alarms blasted everywhere and lights started flashing along the ceiling.

Several doors opened behind him and he could hear others shouting for him to stop, but he never would.

He ran straight through the open door and kept going to where he saw Yeosang’s car parked. The engine roared to life and Yeosang hurried out to open the passenger side front and back doors before jumping behind the wheel again.

Jongho matched pace with San and took Wooyoung from him so he could climb in the back, then handed the mermaid gently over so he could get in the car.

Yeosang slammed on the gas before the doors even shut and sped away with screeching tires.

“Are they following us?” Jongho asked.

“I can’t tell.” Yeosang was panting and shaking in his seat.

“Don’t go directly home. Take a roundabout way, just in case. I don’t think they know San and I are involved. Yet…” Jongho reached over to hold the back of Yeosang’s neck. It calmed the older down enough to look at San in the mirror.

“Is he ok?”

San couldn’t bring himself to answer. He was staring down and where he had Wooyoung curled into his chest.

Wooyoung was so pale… and he was starting to shake again.

As if to answer their question, though, a flash of light suddenly happened that made Yeosang swerve violently in surprise.

When they could see again, San cried out when he saw Wooyoung’s tail bunched up in the back seat. It was too long to lay flat, even if Wooyoung were to sit against the door.

Jongho twisted in his seat to reach back and try to straighten it out so it wasn’t twisted to bad. “What does this mean?” He breathed.

“I don’t know… but I have a feeling it means he’s too weak to keep up the transformation.” San said without looking away from Wooyoung’s face. He stroked it gently, willing for the boy to wake.

“Don’t worry, San. We’ll get him home.” Yeosang voice was confident. San knew he meant back to their home, and eventually back to Wooyoung’s home too.

They would figure it out, but one thing was for sure, San would never let those scientists get their hands on his Wooyoung again.


	29. Chapter 29

Yeosang did a good job getting them home in a timely manner while still weaving through neighborhoods and side streets. Jongho was constantly looking at his mirror to make sure they weren't being followed.

When they pulled up to their apartment, Yeosang parked the car right in front of their door so that they had a straight shot to their front door.

San was suddenly extremely thankful that they had a first floor apartment. He wasn't sure how they wouldn't have carried Wooyoung's limp body up multiple flights of stairs.

He watched while both Yeosang and Jongho looked around for signs of anyone else in the area before the younger opened San's door. "Get out and then we can pull him out. I'll get his tail."

San nodded and did as Jongho suggested.

Wooyoung was so pale now. Even his purple and red scales were loosing their beautiful hues.

"Yeosang get the door open and start filling the bath tub." He called over his shoulder, knowing his friend would take care of it in an instant.

He and Jongho worked hard to keep Wooyoung off the ground, but he was so much heavier in this form. San ended up looping his arms underneath Wooyoung's shoulders and lower back while Jongho did his best to grapple with the merman's tail. He had part of it draped over his shoulder, which the very end the tail dangled centimeters above the ground, while he was cradling his arms around the middle and the part top of the tail where it started turning into skin.

If they weren't in dire need of help, San probably would have laughed at how ridiculous they looked right now, or even how absurd this situation was in general.

But his heart was racing so fast it felt like it could give out any second and he was terrified that someone was going to exit their apartment and see them.

When they squirmed their way awkwardly through the door, the sound of running water came from the bathroom and Yeosang was running back to them to help them inside so he could slam the door. All the curtains were closed so there was no way to see inside.

"Almost... there..." San grunted. He tried to regain his grip on Wooyoung when he felt his arms shaking. He had to remain strong...

Yeosang had chosen the bathroom connected to his room, since he had the master bedroom, and he started spewing something about thinking it would be better to have more doors in between Wooyoung and anyone who might come in.

San tried to give him a grateful smile, but it felt like it was more of a grimace than anything.

As they fumbled into the bathroom, Jongho lifted Wooyoung's tail above his head so they could twist him around and lay him gently in the lukewarm water. He ended up with his head resting against the wall and half of his tail draped over the side of the tub.

Jongho reached over to turn off the water before it overflowed, then the three of them stood there panting heavily and staring at the creature before them.

It took a couple of moments for San to collect himself, and once he did, he slowly walked forward and knelt next to the tub. He felt so guilty that Wooyoung couldn't fit in it properly. What if it wasn't enough to help him? What if they were too late?

A hand on his shoulder and a gentle squeeze from Yeosang had him closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

"He's here, and he's safe for now." The older whispered while crouching down to hug San from behind. Yeosang nuzzled his head into the crook of San's neck and shoulder in a comforting motion he had done since they were little. "We won't let anything happen to him."

"I'm going to make some calls and see if we can get something bigger for him to stay in, just in case." Jongho said gently. His footsteps could be heard leaving the bathroom.

San felt himself starting to tremble and he did what he could to fight it. He clenched his fists so hard he could feel his nails digging into his skin. "What do we do now, Sangie?"

"I don't know, but we will figure it out. Together. I promise."

San knew he meant every word of it too. Yeosang would never leave him or lead him astray. He was so grateful to have his best friend and brother by his side right now.

Neither of them left Wooyoung's side, keeping a vigil over him while he remained unconscious. They sat against the wall, side by side.

At one point, San felt himself dozing off. He did everything he could to fight it, not wanting to miss a single thing, but Yeosang reached around to guide San's head over so that it was resting against his shoulder. "I'll wake you if anything happens."

There was no arguing now. As soon as his head touched Yeosang's shoulder he started slipping away even faster.

.

.

.

.

Tired... so tired...

It hurt to move and it hurt to even think about moving.

Wooyoung didn't think he had every felt so tired in his life.

What had happened? He couldn't remember...

His head rolled to the side and the end of his tail twitched. It took him a moment to process that there wasn't as much resistance as normal, which wasn't right.

Slowly, he pried his eyes open, flinching at the bright light shining down on him.

When he could finally open his eyes, panic set in when he didn't recognize where he was. RJ merman immediately cried out and flung his hands down, wincing when they came in contact with something hard.

Water sloshed around him at the sudden movements.

Then there were hands on his face and the sweetest voice whispering to him that immediately drew him out of his panicked state.

"You're ok, Wooyoung, it's ok. You're safe. It's ok." San said over and over while gently stroking his cheeks and hair. "You're safe."

Wooyoung instantly felt his eyes fill with water as a rush of emotions hit him and he flung his arms around San to hug him tight. He pulled the human close to him and fisted his shirt while burying his face into San's shoulder.

"It's ok." San continued to whisper, although his voice was shaking too. He cupped the back of Wooyoung's head to hold it in place and gently ran his fingers along Wooyoung's back. The motion made Wooyoung shiver, but he loved it so much, it was very comforting.

"Can we get you anything?" Yeosang asked after several minutes.

Wooyoung lifted his head up a little and tried to answer San's friend, but he was too distracted by what was happening with his body. Be pulled back from San and touched his wet cheeks. "What's h-happening to m-me?" He looked at his fingers and sobbed again.

San let out a breathy laugh and reach over to run his fingers through Wooyoung's hair. "They are called tears. It happens when you cry up here."

"I'm n-not sick?"

"No." San gave him the softest of smiles. "You're not sick."

Wooyoung sniffed and touched his cheeks again, then glanced at Yeosang. "You're here too. Thank you."

"You don't need to thank us." Yeosang crossed his arms and shuddered a little. "That place... just please, what can we do for you? What do you need?"

The merman finally looked around and saw he was in what humans called their bathroom. He looked down at the water fulled tub and followed the line of his tail where it was hanging over the side. "The water is enough for now. Thank you." He said softly while running his fingers through the clear liquid.

His mind felt... blank... like he didn't know how to process everything. More water leaked from his eyes but this time without the sobbing. He was just empty.

The sound of a door opening and closing tickled his senses, but it was muffled and so far away.

"Wooyoung?" San leaned forward to engulf Wooyoung's line of vision. His forehead was creased with concern but he still had the gentlest look in his eyes. "Are you ok?"

He didn't know how to answer. His eyes drifted down to his tail again and all the holes where his beautiful scales used to be. So many were taken from him... So much pain. His tail would be a disgrace back home according to their beauty standards...

Then he remembered the other thing the scientists had done. He lifted his arm up to look at where they had taken a chuck of his flesh out.

"Oh my god." San gasped. "Youngie..." He reached over with shaking hands and pulled Wooyoung's arm over for him to look at. "Youngie, what did they do to you?"

The merman flinched and pulled his arm back. "I don't want to talk about it." He whispered.

San made a sound in the back of his throat like he wanted to protest, but thankfully he didn't. Instead, he sat back on his heels and looked down at his lap. "Why did you change back?"

Wooyoung had to search his memories to realize what San was talking about before he could answer. "My magic only lasts for so long, and I was already weak. It... will probably be some time before I have enough strength to transform again. This water will help, but the ocean will be better." He couldn't bring himself to look at San as he spoke. Now that they were in a place where they could finally speak, all the lies and deception came forward, and Wooyoung wanted nothing more than to go hide away.

"Then we will keep you in here for now. Jongho is trying to see if we can find something bigger to get you in. But... the ocean is going to be a problem. It's a long drive, a few days... Don't worry though, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you and get you home." San's voice cracked on the last word and he looked like he was in pain.

Wooyoung didn't speak for what felt like an eternity. There was so much he wanted to say and yet no words would come out. Not he ones that would truly mattered... "You must hate me."

"No." San answered quickly. "No, Wooyoung. Am I still extremely confused? Yes. I have a million questions I want to ask you, but I could never, ever hate you."

"How can you not? I lied to you, about everything."

"But I understand why you did it. I mean, this is the biggest secret the world has ever know. It has to be. And if you were to tell me that you were a- a- a- merman, I wouldn't have believed you." Wooyoung finally looked up and sniffed. San was staring at the wall now with an almost mystified look, especially when the corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. "It explains so much though. I was worried that you had like... abusive parents or something, because there were so many things that just fascinated you that were ordinary things to me."

Wooyoung bit his lip an looked down. "There are so many things up here that are new to me. I've always been so curious about the human world..."

"So, you really did save me then, didn't you?" San looked at him as if the memory just slapped him in the face.

"Yeah." Wooyoung smiled shyly. "I was swimming nearby when I heard everything. When I saw you sinking... I fought against every instinct I had been raised with in order to save you. I couldn't just let you drown."

"Well, I suppose I should thank you again." San chuckled and crossed his arms on the side of the tub so he could sit down and rest his chin on them. "Thank you."

Wooyoung giggled in response. "You're welcome. So what happens now?"

"Well." San sighed. "You need to rest, first and foremost. And I supposed we just take it one day at a time."

"But you won't leave me?" Wooyoung flicked his tail a little and squirmed in the cramp space.

San grinned wide enough to show his dimples. "Never."


	30. Chapter 30

It took only a few hours for Jongho to find something big enough to keep Wooyoung in. He bought a trough from a farmer just outside of town and brought it back to his condo to start filling with water.

After talking for about an hour or so, it was decided that Wooyoung would be safer there. Jongho had taken precautions to cover his face, but they weren’t sure if San would be recognizable or not. Because of that, and because he refused to leave Wooyoung, San wanted to quit his job.

“That would be foolish.” Yeosang said. “They would know right away if you had something to do with it. No, you need to keep going to work, at least for a little bit. We can come up with an excuse for you to quit in the meantime.”

“I can’t waste time with that!” San exclaimed. He stood up from where he had been sitting next to the tub and clenched his fists. “I have to be here for Wooyoung!”

Water sloshed behind him and San turned to see Wooyoung staring down at his hands. “It’s not like I can go anywhere.” He said softly.

San felt his chest tighten at the merman’s words and knelt next to him. “That’s not what I-“

“I know. But… If the ocean really is as far away as you say, it’s going to be some time before I’m able to travel. And…” Wooyoung started to tremble a little. “We can’t risk them hurting any of us. Please.” He looked up with round eyes and reached out to take San’s hand.

“Ok.” San said immediately. “Ok. I’ll go.”

Yeosang placed a hand on his shoulder. “And you know I’ll be here for him. I can afford to miss some classes. Ravn can get me any coursework I may need.”

Wooyoung perked up at the name and looked around the bathroom as if Ravn would appear.

“Don’t worry.” Yeosang said quickly. “They won’t see you, especially once we get you over to Jongho’s. I don’t think they’d say anything, but I’d rather not risk it.”

“Thank you.” Wooyoung squirmed in place a little and flicked his tail. The end of it slapped against the tiled floor with a heavy thud.

“Ok, so what? We move Wooyoung to Jongho’s, let him heal up, and then leave?” San pursed his lips. “I don’t like it.”

“I know, but what else are we supposed to do?” Yeosang leaned against the door and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Is there anything that can speed up the healing process for you?” He looked over San’s shoulder at Wooyoung.

The merman shook his head. “No. If I were home it would be different, but I’m too far away from the magic. I’m sorry to be such a burden.”

“You’re not.” San shook his head and squeezed Wooyoung’s hand. “We are going to figure this out, I promise.”

With that decision in place, they waited for Jongho’s text to work on moving Wooyoung. Yeosang grabbed his tail and draped it over his shoulder like he had seen Jongho do, while San cradled Wooyoung in his arms.

He would be lying if he said he didn’t love the feeling, especially with the merman’s arms wrapped around his neck and Wooyoung’s nose pressed against his neck.

They worked quickly to get him in the back seat of the car. Thankfully Jongho didn’t live that far away, only about twenty minutes, and he was ready and waiting when they pulled up.

“I’ve got it set up in my spare room.” He grunted while getting a grip on Wooyoung’s tail. “I don’t know how we are supposed to filter it though.”

“I can do that.” Wooyoung lifted his head from San’s shoulder. “It will take a little bit of magic, but I think I have enough strength to do that much.”

“Are you sure?” San asked, tilting his head.

Wooyoung nodded. “It might drag things out a little longer, but it’s the easiest thing I can think of.”

“It’ll do for now.” Jongho said gently. “I tried to make it as comfortable for you as possible.”

San was impressed when he saw the set up. Jongho had pushed everything against the walls and filled the trough partway with water. It looked like he might have also carved a large piece of wood into a slant so that Wooyoung had something to lay back against. There were even small pillows attached around the side so that Wooyoung had something soft for his head. “Jongho…”

“Don’t mention it.” The younger said with a slight blush. “It’s not much…”

“It’s perfect.” Wooyoung said softly. He stayed still while they lowered him into the water, then let out a soft sigh when it started to soak into his skin.

The trough was definitely longer than the bathtub. Almost all of Wooyoung’s tail could fit in it now, so he only had to keep some of it bent or leave the end of his tail hanging over the side.

Once he was settled Jongho placed the end of a hose in and went to his bathroom to turn on the water and fill it a little more. San followed and noticed that he had tapped a funnel over the faucet and had the small end of it fed into the other end of the hose, which he used duct tape to keep it together.

“You’re pretty handy, aren’t you?” San said with a crooked smile.

“I mean, sure, if you want to put it that way. I just do what I can to help with the solution with what I have available.” Jongho rubbed the back of his neck and poked his head through the door to check the water level.

“Well it’s incredible. Thank you.” San hoped Jongho could feel the sincerity in his words because he didn’t think he’d ever be able to think of something like this.

Jongho nodded a couple of times and looked away, trying to hide how red he was.

San didn’t push things and went back to sit next to Wooyoung. “Can we get you anything else?” He asked.

The merman quirked his lips to the side and shook his head. “I don’t think so. This water tastes funny though.” He said, bringing a handful to his lips.

“Oh, there’s no salt in it. Would that help you?” San looked over at Jongho, who quickly turned the water off and ran to his kitchen.

When he returned, he handed the container of salt to Wooyoung, who took it and poured a little on his hand to lick. His eyebrows shot up and he bounced in place a little. “How did you do this?! And why? I don’t understand why you would separate it like this?”

Everyone in the room laughed for the first time that day and San reached out to ruffle Wooyoung’s hair. “We have so much to teach you.”

“Oh please! I’d love to know more since I’m here!” He looked up at San with big eyes, but then they grew dark and sad. “You… You don’t have any way to get in contact with the ocean, do you?”

San felt his heart ache at the words and slowly shook his head. “It’s so far away, I don’t-“

“It’s ok. It’s just… They don’t know where I am.”

“They?” San whispered. Then he gasped when he realized what Wooyoung was talking about. “Oh god, you’re family… I didn’t even think…”

Wooyoung looked down and his lower lip wobbled a little. “I don’t even know how long I’ve been away. I was supposed to be visiting other pods so the expected me to be gone… but if I don’t come home, they will be so worried.”

San looked at his friends to see if they had any ideas, but they both shook their heads. His gaze moved to looking out Jongho’s window while his mind wandered when he saw a possible answer. “Youngie, you have a way to communicate with the sea animals, right?”

“Yes, through my magic for some. But it’s… more of a feeling than actually talking. Why?”

“Do you think you could do it with a bird? A sea gull?” He pointed out the window at where some had gathered on the street to pick at the garbage there.

Wooyoung pushed himself up and craned his neck to look, then tilted his head. “Oh! We saw those at the beach! They come all the way out here?”

Yeosang snorted and crossed his arms. “They are basically pests that will appear anywhere they can find a reliable food source.”

The merman turned to look at him with a questioning gaze. “Pests?”

An endearing smile crossed Yeosang’s face and he waved his hand back and forth. “Never mind. But San, I think I get what you’re saying. If you could commune with the sea gulls, maybe you could get one to take a message to your family?”

Wooyoung’s mouth opened in shock and he looked out the window again. “You think? It could be worth a shot! I’d need a few things though… Do you have shells, squid ink, and seal skin?”

“Wh-What? Seal skin?” San leaned back a little, feeling slightly put-off at the question. “Youngie, why would you ask that?”

“Because it’s what we use to leave messages for each other. We have a library full of seal skin scrolls, they are strong and durable.” He said as if it wasn’t the strangest sentence in the world.

San swallowed the forming lump in his throat and shook his head. “We… We don’t hunt seals up here. They are are protected. We could get in big trouble for killing them.”

“Really?” Wooyoung gasped. “That’s incredible. I mean, it makes me happy to hear that because we have received reports from other pods that their numbers are decreasing, but you’ve stopped hunting them all together?”

“Well, no. Not everyone follows that rule unfortunately.” Jongho sighed. “But they could be fined or go to jail if they are caught.”

“What does that mean?”

San stood up. “We can explain later. If we find you something close to that, would it work?”

“I think so?” Wooyoung thought for a second, then looked down at his tail. “Back home…” He started, his voice so much softer now. “We use squid ink mixed with our scales to write with. Because of the magic within us, the ink never fades away in the water.”

“I bet we can find some squid ink easily, and then maybe just some parchment?” Yeosang suggested. “And sea shells are easy too. But…” He paused. “You said scales?”

Wooyoung nodded. “I’ll probably need to take two more to send them a message… but I don’t know what else to do.”

San could feel himself starting to shake with both fear and anger. He didn’t want to see Wooyoung suffer anymore, especially now that he knew why the scientists kept taking his scales. How could they do that to such a beautiful, innocent creature?

They were monsters, all of them. 

“There’s no saying it’ll work either… but can we try? Please?” Wooyoung asked, looking at all three humans in the room in turn.

“Of course we can.” San nodded. “We will do what we can. I promise.”

“Thank you.” Wooyoung said softly. Then he settled into the trough, laying against the slant and closed his eyes.

Everyone else took the dismissal, and honestly, San couldn’t blame him for wanting to be alone. As much as he hated walking away from Wooyoung, he felt better knowing he was in a safe place.

He followed Yeosang and Jongho into the living room and immediately walked into Yeosang’s open arms for a much needed hug.

“Are you ok?” The older asked, holding him tight.

“I don’t know.” San answered truthfully. “It’s all so much…”

“I know.” Yeosang shushed him gently. “We are going to figure it out though. Are you sure you’re ok with him staying here?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t.” Jongho said. “It’ll be nice to have some company for once.”

Yeosang gave a light chuckle and started to sway back and forth. The motion had always been comforting to San so it helped him calm down. “Well we will be here as much as we can, but I don’t think we should change up our routine too much, at least for now. I’m sure they will hold investigations at work that you two will need to be prepared for. Depending on how far they want to take it they may even make you take lie detector tests, and I have no idea how you will trick that…”

“I don’t want to worry about that until they confirm it.” Jongho sighed. “We just need to be prepared for all sorts of questions. But I agree, if they decide to start watching us you guys shouldn’t be coming over here all the time, even though that sounds amazing.”

San lifted his head up just in time to see the longing look in Jongho’s eyes as he glanced at Yeosang. He didn’t miss the blush that came to Yeosang’s cheeks either. It made him smile a little, which he hid by lowering his head once more to Yeosang’s shoulder.

“Alright, well we have a game plan for now.” Yeosang patted San’s back a couple of times. “Let’s do some research to get Wooyoung what he needs. Thankfully you two are off for the weekend now, although I’d be prepared to be called in at any time. And I think we all need to get some food in us so I’ll start by pulling up a few menus and we can just order in, ok?”

“I’ll pay.” San said quickly, waving off any protests. “It’s the least I can do. And I’ll get you money for groceries too, Jongho.”

The younger looked like he wanted to say something, but his shoulders slumped and he nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate it.”

San looked back at the bedroom and watched Wooyoung’s eyes wander back and forth under his eyelids for several minutes. He had faith they would figure things out, and while part of him hoped that Wooyoung could get a message to his family, deep down he wished Wooyoung could stay with him forever…


	31. Chapter 31

Wooyoung felt bad about pretending to be asleep, but he was just feeling so overwhelmed. He needed a mental break to sift through his thoughts.

He still couldn’t fully believe that he was free from the aquarium and the scientists. After their last session with him, he had started to accept that he would be there forever.

Just their little toy to play with.

But them seeing San and being in his arms had been a feeling that he had been longing for since the day they said goodbye on the beach.

Wooyoung was so happy to be here, or, as happy as he could be. And seeing the way San wanted to protect him made his heart race in ways only the human had been able to achieve.

That high was quickly ruined by the thought of how far away he was from his home. That had to be the most distressing thing for him right now.

Mingi and Yunho had to know by now that something was wrong. Were they searching for him? Maybe they would try to visit the other pods and get some answers.

The only problem was that they would find none… All evidence of the attack had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, and they were forbidden to go there due to the laws set in place by Mother Atargatis. She was the one who laid down all the rules for their kind, and they never disobeyed them.

Wooyoung started to tremble in the small, waterfilled container he was in. He was so thankful that the others were doing what they could for him, but to some extent this was worse than the aquarium. There was no way for him to stretch his limps or feel the water flowing around him. Using his magic to filter it helped a little, but it wasn’t the same.

He would never tell San that he was uncomfortable though. After everything that had happened, he had already put San through enough hardships…

For now, he would do what he could to keep a smile on his face. It was the least he could do.

Wooyoung opened his eyes when he heard the others talking about different stores they wanted to go to. Their voices were soft enough that he couldn’t pick up on exactly what they were saying, but he could hear how exhausted they were.

With a deep sigh, he flopped his tail around and stirred up the water around him.

Why did he have to be so useless right now?

And each hole in his tail made it even worse.

His body was weak and defenseless, which was something he wasn’t used to feeling. Magic had always been available to him. Always…

“Woo?” San’s gentle voice came from in front of him and Wooyoung looked up, startled by his appearance. “Sorry, I just… are you ok?” He walked forward slowly and sat down.

“Yeah, I’m ok.” Wooyoung sat up and drew his tail in so that he could wrap his arms around it and rest his chin on his tail.

“Is there something you’d like to eat? We are going to order some food.”

Wooyoung perked up at the thought of that. Human food was so amazing! “Pizza?” He asked, bouncing in place a little.

The wide smile he adored so much crossed San’s face and the older reached out to ruffle his hair. “Somehow I knew you were going to say that. Some is already on its way.”

“It’s been so long!” Wooyoung sucked his lower lip into his mouth and felt his stomach rumble. “Oh! I want ice cream again!” His mind started to wander with all the different foods he wanted to eat again, and he let it, knowing it would be a good distraction for him.

San laughed and nodded. “We can make that happen. Is there anything that we should get you to eat regularly?”

The merman tilted his head to the side and quirked his lips. “I don’t think so. I mean, I guess just fish.”

“Alright, we can do that.” San looked back out into the other room, then down at his hands. “I missed you so much, Youngie.”

Wooyoung felt a weight on his chest and he shifted in place a little. “I missed you too. I spent so long trying to move on… but… I couldn’t.” He looked up at San and felt what human’s called tears coming to his eyes again.

It made no sense that they made water with their bodies when they were out of water.

“Me neither. Nothing felt right.” San whispered.

“I guess one good thing came out of me getting caught.” Wooyoung tried to smile as he spoke, but instead the tears were set free and they rolled down his cheeks.

San immediately leaned forward and dragged his thumbs across the merman’s skin. “It’s ok, Baby. It’s ok.” His voice was soft and gentle, immediately calming Wooyoung down.

Their faces were a lot closer together now and Wooyoung took a moment to let his eyes drift over every inch of San’s skin. It was just as perfect as he remembered.

Then he did something he had wanted to do for months now.

Wooyoung turned onto his side and placed his hands on the slanted wood to lift his body up so he could close the distance between them.

The second their lips met, San’s hands moved from Wooyoung’s cheeks to the back of his head and his shoulder to try and draw him in closer.

It felt like bubbles were bursting in Wooyoung’s stomach as a pleasant heat flowed through him. A soft moan came from the back of his throat and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss.

San’s fingers dug into his shoulder, expressing his feelings as well and Wooyoung couldn’t help but smile into the kiss. Especially when their tongues twisted together.

Oh how he had missed kissing San.

At one point after they had said goodbye, he had almost brought kissing up to Mingi and Yunho to see what their thoughts on it would be. But if he did that, he’d have to explain how he found out about it. That would not have gone over well.

He knew they would like it though. He could feel how deep of a connection it created between the two of them.

Which drew his mind to other things.

Wooyoung pulled back from the kiss and rubbed his nose against San’s. “You know what I can’t wait for?”

San let out a shuddering sigh and his eye lids fluttered. “What?”

“To fall asleep in your arms again.”

The human looked at him with such pure emotion that Wooyoung felt his cheeks growing warm. San leaned forward again and pressed their foreheads together before whispering, “I want that too. More than you could ever know.”

“I wish I wasn’t stuck in this… this… thing.” Wooyoung motioned to container and stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

“I know. If we could do anything to change it, I would in a heartbeat.” San gently rubbed the back of Wooyoung’s head, softly teasing his hair with his slender fingers. “But you just need to heal up, and then…” San swallowed and looked down for a moment. “Then we can do whatever you’d like.”

Wooyoung heard the human’s hesitation, and he knew why. There was always going to be this shadow looming over them. They were from two different worlds, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t make the most of their time together now.

So instead of saying anything more, Wooyoung tilted his head once more to kiss his human. “I heal up as fast as I can.”

“And I’ll be here to help you as much as I can. Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Woo. I promise.”

A few minutes later, Yeosang walked in carrying a pizza box.

Wooyoung was so excited to see it, he ended up sloshing some of the water over the side of his container when he grabbed the side to lift himself up. “Oops.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jongho chuckled and knelt down to dry it up.

“San said you’d want pizza as soon as we started looking. I remember how much you liked it too.” Yeosang chuckled while setting the box down on the bed. He placed a slice on a. Plate and handed it to Wooyoung, who immediately lifted the plate to his mouth and took a bite of the pizza.

“God this is so much better than anything we have back home.” He moaned while chewing on it. “I didn’t realize how much I missed this.”

Wooyoung hummed and tried not to pay attention to the adoring looks he was receiving. He knew he was acting strange in their eyes, but he couldn’t help it.

It was things like this that reminded him why he found the human world so fascinating.

But mostly it was San.

His human sat as close to him as possible all through the evening, and when night time came, Jongho helped move the bed right next to Wooyoung’s container so the two of them could kind of sleep together.

The exhaustion of the day hit Wooyoung harder than he expected, and before he knew it, his head was slowly falling against the pillows surrounding him.

He fell asleep laying on his side with San’s hand draped over the side of his ‘new home’, their finger intertwined right on the edge of the water.

_“How could they let this happen?!”_

_“I d-don’t know, Sir. They are still investigating.” Hongjoong flinched and held his clipboard in front of his face when Seonghwa threw a book at the wall near his head. “S-Someone had inside access. They are planning on interviewing all the employees and-“_

_“I want every one of those idiots fired!” Seonghwa roared. “We need to get our people out there and search for him. I want him FOUND.”_

_“I’m already on it, S-Sir.” Hongjoong did his best to keep his voice straight. He had been on the receiving end of Seonghwa’s rage one too many times, and he was not about to let it happen again if he could help it. “Once we get a lead then we can search for him.”_

_Seonghwa stormed over to him and forced Hongjoong backward until he was pressed against a wall. His towering stature had Hongjoong wishing he could string and disappear. “When he gets here, he’s going to wish he hadn’t tried to defy me.”_

_“Sir, please…”_

_“Make sure you get this done, Hongjoong. I will not let all my hard work go to waste. I will complete my family’s mission. And you,” Seonghwa grabbed Hongjoong’s chin and tilted his head back, “You get to come along for the ride as long as you continue to be good and do what I ask.”_

_Hongjoong shuddered and nodded. The chill that ran through him echoed his deepest desires._

_“Don’t. Fail me.” Seonghwa released him and stormed out of the room._

_When he caught his breath, Hongjoong pulled out his phone and called the aquarium once more. “Report.” He said with a hard tone._

_“We are still reviewing camera footage, trying to get the full story.” The guard on the other end of the phone said. He sounded tired. “We can see the entire time of the incident, but whoever it was did a good job at disguising themselves.”_

_“I need you to figure out who did this. We cannot waste any more time. We paid you good money for that asset, and you are about to lose everything. We will take away all your research, all your other assets, everything.”_

_“I know. We are do-“_

_“Do. Better.” Hongjoong hung up the phone and pinched the bridge of his nose._

_What a mess this was turning out to be… And if things weren’t solved quickly, Seonghwa was going to be livid._

_So many years had been spent gathering all the information, data, gear, everything needed to contain the creatures that Seonghwa so dearly wished to possess. They were essential for his plan._

_Hongjoong sighed and looked down at the phone in his hands. As much as he wished things could be different, he had brought this upon himself. With a sigh, he straightened his shirt, then walked out of the office._

_It was only a matter of minutes before Seonghwa had him pinned against another wall and was biting and nipping at his neck in his attempt to get his frustrations out._

_All just a part of his job._


	32. Chapter 32

San’s hand shook as he buttoned up his uniform, or attempted to at least. He was having a hard time getting the buttons through the hole. Sweat gathered on his forehead. His nerves were out of control…

“I can’t do this.” He said, looking at where Yeosang was sitting on his bed watching him with concern. “I can’t. They are going to find out.”

“San, you need to calm down and act like everything is normal.” Yeosang said once again. He had been repeating the same thing since last night but San was sure neither one of them really heard the words.

“What if they put me through a test? Or what if they already know it’s me?”

“If they did, then they would have showed up here or called you in. Same with Jongho.”

San closed his eyes and dropped one had to his side. The other one slipped inside of his still open shirt to grasp Wooyoung’s scale. It was still just as purple as the day he’d received it, unlike the merman’s scales now.

He didn’t know if he imagined it or not, but whenever San held it like this he felt stronger. And this time it helped calm him down.

Saying goodbye to Wooyoung earlier that morning had been almost harder than saying good bye to him a t the beach. He hated leaving Jongho’s house knowing that the merman was going to be there without him. And it wasn’t that he didn’t trust Jongho to take care of him. But… he wanted to be able to do that himself.

After taking a long, deep breath, San released the scale and finished buttoning up his shirt with no problems.

Yeosang walked over to hand him his belt. “You can do this. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.” He said with a gentle voice.

“Thanks, Sangie. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

The older snorted and took a step back. “Probably be dead in a ditch somewhere.”

“I don’t doubt that.” San couldn’t help but laugh. The statement probably held more truth to it than what he would ever admit. If it wasn’t for Yeosang, he didn’t know where he’d be in life, but he had a guess it would probably have a lot to do with drugs or alcohol to try and forget the thoughts of how useless he was.

San paused when that thought crossed his head. It was the first time he had ever felt that since meeting Wooyoung. A smile tugged at the corner of his lips when he realized just how much Wooyoung had changed him in the short time they knew each other.

It just strengthened his resolve. He would do whatever he could to protect the merman.

With a nod, both he and Yeosang walked to the car. The drive was silent but comfortable, and San was grateful when Yeosang took his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze before he left.

Everything looked normal on the outside and San was able get into the building just fine. His eyes flicked back and forth in quick motions as he tried to take in everything at once.

Scientists walked in groups scanning their clipboards and talking quickly about whatever project they were working on. That was nothing new… A few aquarium employees walked in and out of the break room back here. That was normal too…

San licked his lips and continued to the security room. That was part of his normal routine, so he was able to keep his breathing under control. His heart was another story though… Once the door swung into the room, he immediately saw that there were more people than expected.

Jongho was there, which was a small relief, although he looked stressed. The head scientist, one of his assistants, two police officers, and Mr. Choi were all crammed in the small room.

“Ah, San. You’re here. How was your weekend?” Mr. Choi asked with a grim smile.

“Fine, thank you. Is everything ok?” San surprised himself at how strong his voice was. He had expected it to be shaking with nerves, especially with everyone looking at him.

“I’m afraid not. We had an incident the other night. Our new attraction is missing.”

San forced his eyebrows up in shock. “What? How is that possible?”

“That’s what we are trying to figure out.” The scientist snapped. “Where were you Friday night?”

“I was off that day, so I was with my roommate.” San clasped his hands behind his back, partly to stay formal with his superiors, but also so he could hide how much he was shaking.

“Do you mind if we ask you a couple of questions, Son?” One of the officers stepped forward. He looked exhausted. San guessed he must have been there all weekend. With a nod from San, the officer turned to the screens and pressed a button on the keyboard to pull up a recording. “You said you were off on Friday, so why would you chose to come back here, and why the hurry?” He asked, pointing his pen at one of the screens.

San watched as he and Yeosang ran into the aquarium. The screen flicked several times to show his progression through the aquarium until they disappeared down the shark tunnel where there were no more cameras.

He took a slow, deep breath to keep it hidden from the people in the room before giving his prepared answer. “That’s my roommate I was with, so I’m not lying. But yes, we were here. I had received a call from Jongho, he was worried about the attraction. We are both fond of watching him and he was laying at the bottom of the tank.” He couldn’t help but glare at the scientists. Anger boiled in him when they showed no sign of remorse.

Mr. Choi cleared his throat. “While that is valiant of you, it is not your place. Either of you.” He glanced at Jongho as well. “These men know what they are doing.”

Before San could snap at the director, the officer held up a hand to interrupt. “What happened after this? We haven’t been able to find you on any cameras leaving the building. And it was shortly after this that the attraction disappeared.”

San did his best not to bristle at the word that kept being used. “Wait, are you accusing me of doing this? How-“

“Because of this!!” The scientist shouted while slamming on the keyboard to pull up another video.

It was the one of San carrying Wooyoung on his back. There was no obvious proof that it was San, though. He never looked in the direction of a camera and the way he was bent over and Wooyoung was leaning on him blocked any good angle.

San felt his heart skip a beat, but he fought through it and kept a straight face. “I don’t understand. I don’t see the attraction here.” And to an extent it was true. Wooyoung’s purple hair didn’t show in the camera feed so they couldn’t even use that as evidence.

“He’s right there!” The scientist jabbed his finger at the video which was now playing on a loop.

“Calm down.” Mr. Choi sighed, then turned to San. “What my colleague is trying to say, is that it’s possible the attraction changed its form. We’ve already proven there is something magical about it’s scales, so maybe it has the ability to change forms too.”

The officer rolled his eyes, subtly, and tapped his notebook. “The disappearance lines up with when you stopped showing up in camera, but as you can see we don’t have a lot to go on. Please keep yourself available for further questioning.”

San nodded and stepped next to Jongho. They both looked to Mr. Choi, who was looking very stressed and worn out. It was understandable to an extent. The man must have put a lot of money into getting and keeping Wooyoung here, and it was easy to see that the officer didn’t fully believe the story about a merman being stolen. He must not have been in to see Wooyoung while he was still here.

“Go ahead and get back to work.” Mr. Choi bowed his head in dismissal. “We will call you in if we need anything else. And have a good evening, Jongho.”

“Good night, Sir.” Jongho bowed in return and he and San left the room to do their normal rounds together before Jongho left.

Once they were out of ear shot, Jongho immediately filled him in on what happened during the day. “They are suspicious, but they don’t have a way to implicate you yet. There’s no proof. I guess they’ve been looking into doing finger print tests, but you have full access to the building so even if they were to find your prints in the elevator, that’s not proof either. We got lucky with the cops assigned to this, but they were talking about bringing in a detective as well.” Jongho pursed his lips and huffed. “We can’t keep the charade up for long if they keep doing more advance things. But I don’t think this is Mr. Choi’s doing, I think there’s someone calling the shots. We need to be careful.” He locked eyes with San.

“We need to hurry and get the things for Woo so he can write home. I fear that’s the only place he will truly be safe.” San murmured, even though it broke his heart to say it.

He knew he’d do anything to protect the creature that had captured his heart, even if it meant having to say goodbye to him forever.

Or maybe he could buy a beach house on some isolated beach where he and Wooyoung could lay out on the beach, undisturbed by everyone. He’d only have to leave to work and Wooyoung could come and visit him whenever he wanted to.

The vision unfolded in front of San’s eyes, glittering and beautiful, bringing tears to his eyes.

Jongho pulled him from it by placing a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. “We are going to get through this. Just keep staying tough like you did today. Don’t give them any reason to suspect you.”

“I know. Thank you. Will you text me when you get home so I know he’s ok?” San asked under his breath. He almost felt like a worried mom who left their child with a new babysitter, but he couldn’t help it.

And Jongho must have know that because he gave a knowing smile and nodded. “Of course. I’m going to stop at the store to get dinner first for the week, or at least a couple of days.”

“Oh, let me know how much it is and I can get you some money, ok?”

The younger waved his hand back and forth. “Don’t worry about it for right now. I’ll let you know if it gets to be too much. I’m looking forward to having some company for once.”

San pushed his lips out in a pout and narrowed his eyes but didn’t argue. There was no point right now.

The pair of then bid each other good night and San turned to start doing his rounds, hoping to keep himself distracted for the remainder of the night…

.

.

.

.

As soon as Wooyoung heard movement, he propped himself up in the container and craned his neck to look out of the room.

Today had been one of the longest ones of his life. He had been so bored!

Thankfully Jongho had set up a tv for him to watch, but even then Wooyoung didn’t understand most of what had been on.

He just wanted to be with San…

“Jongho?” He called out, twisting around in the container so that he could move to the other end. It was difficult, but he was able to pull himself over his tail and worked to fan that out behind him. He gripped the side of the container and lifted himself up to stare out of the bedroom with big eyes. “Jongho?!”

“Yeah, it’s me! Hang on!” The human yelled.

Wooyoung could see him hurry past the door carrying a bunch of bags. He waited impatiently, bouncing a little in the water, then perked up as soon as Jongho appeared. “You’re home!”

A wide smile crossed Jongho’s face that crinkled his eyes. “Hey. How are you?”

“I’m fine. A little lonely.” Wooyoung admitted.

“I know, I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s ok, this isn’t forever.” Wooyoung lowered himself into the container and worked on twisting back around to sit normally.

A sad look crossed Jongho’s face, but he quickly erased it and crossed his arms. “Are you hungry?”

“Starving! Thank you fro the snacks today though. They were delicious.”

“You’re welcome. Hang tight and I’ll get some food. Then maybe we can watch a movie or something.”

“We can do whatever you’d like, I’m just glad you’re home.” Wooyoung’s tail wagged in the water a little in excitement, making Jongho laugh.

They ended up eating salmon, which Wooyoung marveled over and over again about how delicious it was to have it like this. Jongho told him that there were raw preparations as well, and he’d be sure to share them, which made Wooyoung almost trill with happiness.

His entire mood for the day had been uplifted now that Jongho was here, and he loved getting to sit with him and chat about random things while watching something on the tv. He got to kind of have a conversation with San too, through what Jongho called texting.

Jongho even stayed the night with him in this room and for a long time Wooyoung just watched him sleep, wondering what it was humans dreamt about.

Eventually, he drifted off as well with a slight smile on his face and scales that were a little more purple and red than they had been the day before.


	33. Chapter 33

Yunho was completely exhausted as he sank to the floor of his bedroom. It was the first night he’d been home in nearly a week…

All o this time had been spent looking for their missing pod members. The need to find Wooyoung drove him forward and pushed him to his limits. But he would never stop…

He had barely settled into the sand before Mingi rushed into their room in a flurry of bubbles. “Yunho! I saw the guards! You’re back. Are you ok? Are you hurt? What did you find?”

His prince sank down in front of him and took his hands. Yunho couldn’t help but smile. “Deep breath, Mingi. I’m ok.”

The silence that feel over them was all the answer needed for Mingi’s last question.

It made Yunho feel like such a failure… He as supposed to protect this pod, it was his sworn duty. And more than anything, he had promised to always protect Wooyoung.

At that thought, Yunho pulled his hands free to cover his face right before he started to sob.

Mingi quickly pulled him close and gently shushed him. “You need to rest, you are doing too much.”

“No!” Yunho shook his head and pushed Mingi away. “I’m not doing enough! I should have answers by now!” He could feel his anger rising. “They couldn’t have just vanished!”

None of this made any sense. Normally if a merman or mermaid disappeared a scale at the very least could be found to bring home to the families.

But now… there was nothing.

“So we will send another group out to keep looking, but you need to rest.”

“I ca-“

“Don’t make me order you.” Mingi said, taking on the harsh tone he needed to be a leader, and one he had never truly had to use on his chosen mate.

Yunho paused, then bowed his head. “I just…”

“I know, I do too.” The prince whispered.

After a few minutes, Mingi helped Yunho off the sea floor and over to the bed so he could lay down. The soft moss cradled his weary body, pulling him into the slumber it desired, all while Mingi hummed gently in his ear.

The next time San and Yeosang went to visit Wooyoung, they very proudly handed over the materials the merman had asked for to try and contact his home.

“Oh! Thank you so much.” Wooyoung bounced in place a little, never taking his eyes off San. “I hope I haven’t caused you too much trouble.”

“It’s fine, really.” San crouched next to the trough and reached out to cup Wooyoung’s cheek. “How are you doing?”

“Alright.”

“What can we do for you?” San glanced at Jongho and saw a sad look in his eyes.

“I’m fine for now, although I am hungry!” Wooyoung pushed himself up on the wooden plank to try and get closer to San.

“I’ve taken care of that already.” Jongho stood up straighter and puffed his chest out a little when Yeosang’s eyes widened in surprise. “It’ll be ready in a little bit.”

Wooyoung beamed and continued to try and lift himself out of the water.

Catching the hint, Yeosang stepped out of the room with Jongho and closed the door behind them.

San chuckled and ran his fingers through Wooyoung’s fluffy, purple hair before closing the distance between them.

Their lips molded together and San loved that he got the slight taste of salt from running his tongue across Wooyoung’s lips.

It was something he knew he would have found strange before, but Wooyoung had changed the way he viewed so many things.

As they slowly pulled away from the kiss, San glanced down at the merman’s tail. “It’s looking better today.” He said, leaning over the side of the trough to study it.

This encouraged Wooyoung to throw his arms around the human’s neck and hang off him while giggling brightly. “A little, yeah!” Wooyoung nuzzled into San’s neck. “I want out of here, Sannie.” He added with a slight whine.

“I know, baby. I wish there was something we could do to make this go faster.”

“I don’t care about that. I just want out.” The small whine continued as he spoke and San felt his heart break.

If he could, San would give Wooyoung anything he asked for. The past few days had given him a lot of time to think, and he was ready to sacrifice everything for the precious creature hanging off him.

Suddenly an idea hit him that sent his heart racing. It would be risky, but maybe there was something they could do to help Wooyoung feel better.

He quickly urged Wooyoung to let go and promised to return shortly before running from the room. “Sangie!”

San ran to Jongho’s kitchen and took a deep breath to start speaking, then exhaled sharply and hid behind the corner, only to peer around it and watch the scene in front of him.

Yeosang was leaning against the counter with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His eyes were trained on where Jongho was thinly slicing pieces of raw fish. San didn’t miss the adoration there, and it made him wish the two of them would stop dancing around each other.

When nothing happened for the next couple minutes, San rolled his eyes, then walked in as if he hadn’t just been a creep. “Sangie!”

“What is it?” Yeosang dropped his arms and rushed over. “Is everything alright?”

“Do you remember that lake we used to go to?” The one high up in the mountains?”

“Yes… why?”

“What if we took Wooyoung there?” San bounced in place a little, already in love with the idea. “It’s only about an hour’s drive, and your car can go off-road.”

“Wouldn’t that be too risky?” Jongho asked as he set down his knife. “What if there are people there?”

“That’s the thing, the water is freezing so it’s not a place a lot of people visit.” San looked between his two friends. “Plus it’s really not the easiest place to get to.”

Yeosang’s eyes flitted back and forth as he thought about San’s idea. San knew he was trying to think of every little thing that could go wrong and how they could get around them.

San took the older’s hands in his own and squeezed. “Please? I can’t do it by myself. I need your help.”

“Can he be out of the water for that long?” Jongho walked over to join them.

“We can ask, but I wanted to talk to you two about it first. I just want to get his hopes up. We could always bring a bucket of water and towels to put over his tail.” San felt his heart pounding in his chest. He wanted to do this for Wooyoung more than anything else right now.

And maybe he was being selfish, but he wanted to spend as much time with Wooyoung as he possibly could.

“When should we do this?” Yeosang asked, a wide, bright smile crossing his face.

San couldn’t help but let out a high pitched cheer of happiness and pulled Yeosang into a bone crushing hug.

“How about this weekend?” Jongho suggested. “You can sleep a little when you get off on Saturday while Yeosang and I get everything together. In fact… What if we turned it into a camping trip? I can borrow some things from my parents.”

“That sounds wonderful! I’ve been itching to get away again.” Yeosang lifted a hand up to hold the back of San’s head. “My only concern is the aquarium. What if they try to get ahold of you?”

Jongho pursed his lips and started tapping his fingers against the counter. “I think we will be ok. The police don’t have a solid story and I can tell they don’t believe Wooyoung can turn into a human. Things have been calmer the last couple of days.”

The three of them exchanged contemplating looks before deciding to talk to Wooyoung so they could make a final decision.

San hurried back to the bedroom and froze when he saw Wooyoung curled over his own tail whimpering softly. He instantly picked out the new holes in the tail. Blood dribbled out of them, only to disperse in the water.

“Youngie…” San slowly walked forward and fell to his knees next to the trough.

The merman sniffed a couple of times and lifted a hand up to rub his red nose. “It’s f-fine. It needed to h-happen.” He sniffed again and ran his hands over his tail. “I used to be known for having one of the most beautiful tails in our p-pod. I w-would be a disgrace now.”

“No, baby, no.” San leaned over the trough to make Wooyoung turn his head so they could make eye contact. “Don’t you ever think that about yourself.”

Wooyoung’s tail flicked a little and he shook his head. “I b-b-betrayed them all… W-We aren’t supposed to let ourselves be taken by humans… I already broke s-so many rules by coming to see you. M-M-Mingi prob-bably wouldn’t take m-me back anyway.” Wooyoung was crying so hard by the end that San could barely understand him.

That didn’t stop him from pulling the merman as close to him as possible, though. He pressed his lips to the top of Wooyoung’s head and ran his nails gently up and down Wooyoung’s arm. “Shh. It’s ok. Everything is going to be ok.”

When he noticed movement in the corner of his eye, San tilted his head to see Yeosang standing in the doorway with a hand over his heart and Jongho right behind him.

Yeosang met his eyes and the two of them held an entire conversation without speaking once.

San knew his friend was worried about Wooyoung and his safety, but he was more worried about San and what all of this would do to him.

Which was something San couldn’t blame him for. Everything was filled with risk and was so up in the air… and the biggest concern was something that had yet to be said out loud.

What was going to happen to San when they returned Wooyoung to the ocean?

It was something San didn’t want to have to think about right now. If he let himself slip even a little, he knew it would lead him down a path of self loathing and pity. And that was a person San didn’t want to be anymore.

“Woo?” Jongho’s voice was hesitant as he leaned around Yeosang’s shoulder.

“H-Hey.” Wooyoung quickly wiped his eyes and hid his pain behind a smile. “What is that?” He sat up a little straighter and fixated on the tray in Jongho’s hands with wide eyes.

San chuckled and motioned for the others to join them. Jongho got himself situated on Wooyoung’s other side and flashed a shy smile. “I made you sushi.”

“Sushi?” Wooyoung shifted over to hang of the side closest to Jongho. The end of his tail twitched back and forth, almost like a dog. “What is sushi?”

“I think you’ll like it. I did a few preparations, but they all have rice, some kind of fish, and seaweed.”

Wooyoung trilled with excitement and held his hand out politely to ask for a piece.

San could see the attachment Jongho had formed with the merman by the way his eyes lit up at Wooyoung’s reaction. “Eat it in one bite if you can. That way you get all the flavors.”

When Wooyoung accepted the piece of sushi, he brought it back to cradle in both hands. “Thank you. It’s so pretty, I almost don’t want to eat it.” He said in a tiny voice.

“Oh, s-stop.” Jongho rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at Yeosang.

A bright giggle came from the merman before he placed the roll of food in his mouth.

“Oh!” He brought a hand up to cover his mouth and his eyes grew even wider if that was possible. Everyone watched as he quickly chewed, bobbing his head happily. “It’s delicious!”

Jongho beamed in response and held out the tray, which sparked Wooyoung into taking five more for himself.

The four of them sat and enjoyed their food for the next several minutes, then San cleared his throat to get Wooyoung’s attention. “Youngie?”

The merman looked at him while sucking the leftover flavor off one of his fingers. It was so cute, San had to fight to hide his smile.

“How long do you think you could stay out of water in this form?”

Wooyoung tilted his head to the side and stared at the ceiling. “Um… I’m not sure, but definitely not long enough to get back to the ocean if it’s really as far away as you say.”

“No we aren’t going there yet, but I had an idea that may help you.” San took Wooyoung’s other hand. “It’ll be a surprise, but we are going to go somewhere this weekend.”

“We are?!” Wooyoung turned quickly, sloshing water as a result, and pulled himself out of the trough so he could lean close to San.

“Yeah.” He whispered.

Then Wooyoung surprised him by giving him a quick peck on the lips. “You make me so happy, Sannie.”

A blush instantly came to San’s cheeks and his eyes flicked to where Yeosang and Jongho were very obviously studying their nails.

Since they were being considerate, San took advantage of the moment to rub his nose against Wooyoung’s. “You make me happy too, Woo.” He whispered. “So very happy.”


	34. Chapter 34

To say Wooyoung wasn’t excited about the trip was a complete understatement. It was hard for him to not ask Jongho about it every time they were together.

Thankfully he had a bit of a distraction while he thought about what he wanted to write to Mingi.

As much as he wanted to lie and hide what he had done, he knew Mingi deserved the truth, and Yunho too, just in case they never saw each other again.

Wooyoung waited until Jongho was at work before he started working on the letter. Grinding up his scales and mixing everything together was not something he wanted the human to witness.

And it wasn’t that it was an unpleasant sight, but Wooyoung himself couldn’t help but cry as he did it. All those thoughts of how ugly his tail was now came flooding back into his head. It just couldn’t be helped…

When everything was ready, he pulled his tail up so that it was bent like humans bend their knees and opened his heart so the words he needed to say poured out of him.

_My dearest Mingi and Yunho,_

_I’m sure by the time this reaches you, you will have realized that something happened. I wish I had better news for you, but I fear everyone chosen to go with me has perished._

_We were ambushed at The Abyss by a giant contraption that allows humans to travel deep into he ocean. It has a similar shape to sperm whales and is the same size. Please be on the lookout for more._

_The humans who came out of it could somehow breathe underwater and they had spears to attack us with. I believe they may have been trying to capture us, but a battle started, which drew in sharks. It turned into a bloodbath, damaging both sides._

_In my panic, and by the urging of one of the guards, I swam away to try and come warn you._

_I am so sorry that I never made it._

_I was captured by a different set of humans who used a barbed net for fishing. They took me to a place called an aquarium and put me on display._

_I have failed us all._

_Humans in this area know of us now._

_I want to assure you that I am safe. I have friends here who rescued me and are going to help me get back to the ocean. I know that reading this will upset you both, but I know I can trust them because I have been spending time with them since early summer._

_Please forgive me. I know I broke so many rules and that you will be disappointed in me. I will understand if you never want to see me again, but please know that I am safe and I am trying to get home to you, where I want to be with you if you’ll still have me._

Wooyoung felt tears pooling in his eyes as he finished his letter. He hadn’t been expecting to write the last part but… the possibility of a future with San was uncertain.

If Mingi and Yunho were willing to see him again, there would be a lot to discuss.

He bit his lip once more before adding to the letter.

_I know we will have a lot to talk about, but I hope you will give me a chance._

_Until that moment comes, please take care of yourself._

_Mingi, please tell your father that I’m sorry._

Wooyoung read through the letter once before rolling it up and tying it with a thin piece of rope.

He waited until the day they were leaving to send it. San was passed out on the bed next to him and Jongho was loading the car with camping material, so Yeosang was the one to come open the window.

“Do you really think this will work?” The human asked after stepping aside.

“I don’t know.” Wooyoung stared down at the letter. “But I hope it will.”

“What will happen to you?”

Wooyoung knew the real meaning behind Yeosang’s question and felt his shoulders fall. “I don’t know.” He said again, softer this time. “I promise I won’t let them harm you.” He looked up and was met with a mixture of sadness and relief.

“What about San?” Yeosang’s voice was barely above a whisper.

Wooyoung slowly turned his head to look at the sleeping boy. His chest tightened as he studied the way San’s cheeks puffed out while sleeping.

He adored his human so much and would do anything he could to protect him.

Yeosang nodded at his silence and watched as Wooyoung tried to call over the seagulls milling around outside.

The merman took a deep breath and drew upon the magic within himself. Then he held up a hand while focusing on one single bird.

She let off a string of high pitched cries while flapping her wings, then flew straight for the bedroom window.

Wooyoung was honestly surprised it worked. He had never communed with anything outside of the water before, so this was all new to him.

“Hey girl.” He spoke softly so he didn’t scare her.

The seagull cocked her head to the side, then jumped the short distance so she could sit on the side of the tub.

“I need you to do something for me…” He held up the letter and projected his thoughts so she would know what he wanted and where the letter needed to go.

She snapped her beak a couple of times before closing it around the letter and flying out in a flurry of rushed flaps.

“Wow.” Yeosang’s eyebrows shot up and his jaw dropped. “That has to be the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Wooyoung blushed and looked down. “Thanks. Honestly I could do so much more if I were at full strength.”

“I bed you could.” Yeosang flashed a crooked grin. His eyes were full of a child-like wonder that made Wooyoung miss the podlings back home. “I’m going to go check on Jongho.”

“Where are we going?” Wooyoung asked, adopting big round eyes and a perfect pout in hopes of finally getting an answer.

“Yeosang pressed his lips together in an attempt to suppress a laugh. “Nice try. You’ll see soon enough.”

With a dramatic sigh, the merman fell back in his tub and flicked his tail in mock irritation. 

Thankfully Yeosang spoke a partial truth. When he returned a short time later, he jumped onto the bed with San yelling, “Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!”

The younger cried out and flailed his limbs in an attempt to protect himself, but it was all in vain.

He whined when Yeosang slipped off the bed and quickly slapped his cheek several times in quick succession. “Whyyy do you doooo thiiiiis.” He said, drawing out the vowels in a perfect whine.

“Because you make it easy.” Yeosang winked at Wooyoung. “Now get your lazy ass out of bed, someone has been pestering me about where we are going.”

San rolled over so his face was buried in it and started mumbling about how Yeosang didn’t have to work last night.

Wooyoung giggled and turned on his side to use the wooden slab to push himself out of the water.

His human was so cute!

“Sannie! I want to know!” He squirmed in place so that the water sloshed around.

All he got was one of San’s arms flopping in response.

Wooyoung didn’t like that. He huffed and dragged himself up the slant, determined to get to San and get him out of bed.

When he got to the edge, Wooyoung pushed himself forward and landed on the floor with a loud thud and a squeak.

His tail slid after him and the end flew over his head and out the window.

The merman made quick work of pulling it back inside, flinching only a little when one of the holes caught a corner, before dragging himself around tub. Which wasn’t easy.

“Sannie! Wake up!” Wooyoung reached up to grab his human’s hand and started tugging it. “Sanniiiieeeeee!”

“Alright, alright, al- Woo!” San shot out of bed as soon as he saw Wooyoung on the floor and cupped his face. “What happened? Are you ok?”

Wooyoung pushed his hands away and scowled. “Yes of course I’m fine. But you need to wake up!” His the end of his tail flopped angrily.

To make matters worse, San immediately started laughing and pulled Wooyoung up and to his chest, wrapping his arms and legs to hold the merman in place. “Oh, Youngie, you’re adorable!” His bright giggles instantly melted Wooyoung’s heart, but he wouldn’t give in that easily. That is, until San started peppering his cheeks with kisses.

Soon both of them were clinging to each other and exchanging soft kisses. Wooyoung couldn’t believe how amazing it felt to be in contact with his human like this again. Oh how he had missed it.

They stayed like that until Yeosang and Jongho came back to inform them that the car was ready to go. San shifted out from under Wooyoung so he could run and get changed, then he and Jongho worked to carry Wooyoung to the car while Yeosang got all the doors and locked the apartment.

Wooyoung wasn’t particularly fond of being in the car again. It was too cramped in this form since they had to bend his tail to hide it under blankets. But he did like that he was pretty much forced to sit in San’s lap the entire time.

And the drive itself was amazing.

Once they left the city, Wooyoung couldn’t believe how green everything was! San called them trees, flowers, and grass. All of it was beautiful.

“It’s like you have your own coral reefs here, but… they don’t need water?” Wooyoung looked between the three of them and saw the fond smiles they gave whenever he said something they found strange.

“No, they still need water. Think of them more like…” Yeosang hummed and tapped his chin. “Seaweed and you have sea grass, I know that. This is just a different type. They need water to live. Everything up here does.”

“Wow.” Wooyoung gasped and looked out the window again.

A chill ran down his spin when he felt San dabbing at his tail with a wet towel. He appreciated that they came prepared to help him. He loved feeling the cloth travel over his scales, guided by San’s gentle hands.

He became even more fascinated by the mountains that shot out of the ground and towered over them as they drove by. How could anything possibly be this big? It made him wonder if this is what the ocean looked like from the bottom of The Abyss…

At one point, Yeosang turned off the road they had been on and down what they called a camping trail. The car started to jostle around and Wooyoung wrapped his arms around San’s neck to try and keep himself steady.

Yeosang would mutter several apologies as they went, to which Jongho would always shake his head and tell him it was fine before looking out the back of the car again.

He had been playing lookout the entire drive to make sure they weren’t being followed.

“Alright.” Yeosang sighed. “I think this is a good spot.”

San perked up and grabbed a long piece of cloth and quickly tied it around Wooyoung’s eyes.

“Hey!” Wooyoung reached up to pull it away, but San took his hands to stop him.

“Trust me. I want this to be a surprise.”

Wooyoung stuck his lower lip out in a pout but didn’t fight it anymore. He spent the next several minutes putting his trust in both San and Jongho as they pulled him out of the car and carried him somewhere,

The air was brisk and cold. It was a strange feeling against his skin that he wasn’t sure he liked. It made him nuzzle into San’s neck and let out a soft sigh.

San chuckled and squeezed Wooyoung tighter. “Alright, are you ready?”

“Yes!” Wooyoung lifted his head back up and looked around even though he still couldn’t see anything.

When the cloth was pulled from his eyes, Wooyoung had to close them quickly due to how bright the sun was. It took him a moment and several slow blinks to adjust.

Then he gasped.

Part of the ocean was sitting in front of him. It had to be! There was so much water!

“How?” He asked, lifting an arm to reach for it.

San and Jongho slowly walked forward. “It’s called a lake. Up here we have large bodies of fresh water, so there’s no salt in it, but we brought you some just in case.” Jongho said.

“I thought maybe this would help you heal because you’d have room to swim around and you could immerse yourself completely.” A slight blush came to San’s cheeks as he spoke.

Wooyoung turned to him with tear-filled eyes. He couldn’t believe San would do something like this for him…

“We need to be careful because other humans could come here, but this is a pretty secluded spot. Are you ready?”

The merman nodded several times and tried to stay still as the two humans carrying him waded out deeper into the water.

The end of his tail was already submerged and it felt glorious. The water itself was incredibly cold, but Wooyoung knew his body would adjust just fine. The ocean was cold too.

Once they were deep enough, San and Jongho bent over to place Wooyoung in the lake. He glanced up at San once, then with a single nod, he turned and dove beneath the surface.

Wooyoung instantly felt revived. The water hugged his skin and called him forward.

Several fish species he had never seen before watched as Wooyoung propelled himself forward with a few powerful thrusts of his tail.

It felt so good to flex it and stretch it out again. He had been in that tub way too long.

And to feel water going through the gills behind his ears was the most refreshing and soothing thing imaginable.

Wooyoung laughed with pure joy as he twisted, spun, and spiraled his way through the lake. It was fairly deep so he was able to really enjoy bending his body in every way he had once been able to.

Sunlight penetrated just deep enough that the water was never too dark, but he was foggy enough that he knew he didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing him as long as he stayed away from the surface.

When he needed to stop and catch his breath, he let himself drift to the lake bed. It was soft, not unlike the fine sand from back home, and he wiggled a little to create a little cradle for himself.

Some of the fish swam over to check him out, curious about the new thing in their territory. Wooyoung held out a hand to him that a few came to touch with their mouths before they fled in a cloud of bubbles.

He smiled and let his arm fall to his side.

This gift from San had to be the best thing he had ever received. It made him long for home even more, but he would take this for now.

It was the happiest Wooyoung had been since this summer. He still couldn’t believe that something like this existed and he was looking forward to exploring it a little more.

But for now, he was content with laying along the bottom and letting his body soak in the glorious water surrounding him.

He could already feel his strength returning, so maybe San was right.

Maybe this is what he needed to return to his old self. Wooyoung hoped it was. He longed to be in touch with the magic again.

He closed his eyes and hummed gently to himself.

What a beautiful place this was.

Wooyoung loved it so much.


	35. Chapter 35

“Do you think he’s ok?” San asked while staring out over the lake.

“Yes, I’m positive he is still just as fine as when you asked us five minutes ago.” Yeosang sighed. “Would you pay attention and help us finish please?”

“Sorry, sorry.” San ran over to help Jongho hammer a few stakes for their tents into the ground. “He’s just been gone for sometime now…”

His friends exchanged a playful smile before returning to their work.

San knew he was being silly. Wooyoung was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. But there was something about the way he just swam off without a backward glance that made San’s heart ache.

Is that what would happen when they reached the ocean?

Before he knew it, San was using the collar of his shirt to dry his eyes.

Yeosang stopped working once more and moved to stand in front of him. “Sannie…” He twisted his lips to the side for a moment and San knew he was about to get one of those ‘brotherly love’ talks. “Have you told him how you feel?”

That was not the question San was expecting. His eyes grew wide and he could feel himself getting flustered under his friend’s inquisitive gaze.

“I’ll take that as a no.” Yeosang grabbed the back of his neck with both hands and sighed. “San… What are you doing?”

“I don’t know anymore, Sangie. This is all such a mess… But I do know I want what’s best for him, and if that means having to let him go… then I will.”

“But what about your happiness?”

San stepped forward to pull the older into a hug, which prompted Yeosang to wrap his arms around San’s shoulders. “I’ll find happiness again if I need to. And I’m always happy knowing I have my brother looking after me.”

“Oh shut up.” Yeosang mumbled, then pushed his nose into San’s neck.

“Have you told Jongho how you feel yet?”

Yeosang tensed and tried to pull away, but San hugged him tighter to keep him there. “You are not turning this around on me. Our situations are completely different.”

“I’ll make you a deal. We have all weekend, so let’s make it our goal to not leave until we both confess.”

The older sucked in a breath, then nodded once. “Deal.”

After they broke apart, the three of them finished setting up their campsite. Jongho had brought two tents, which they spaced out for some privacy, and things needed for a campfire.

San was in the process of digging a hole when he heard a loud splash come from the lake and a bright, “Sannie!”

He dropped them small shovel and immediately ran to the shoreline.

Wooyoung beamed as he dragged himself into shallow water. His long tail swished behind him, stirring up the water and dirt around it. But even with the water getting murky, San could see that his scales were already a more vibrant shake of purple and red.

“How are you feeling?” San asked as he rolled up his pants. He hissed when his toes first touched the water. It was colder than he remembered… but he forced himself forward so he could crouch in front of the merman.

“Wonderful! It’s strange and different, but beautiful too!” Wooyoung’s smile grew as he spoke. “The fish aren’t as friendly, though.”

San laughed, loving that the fish were a concern to Wooyoung. “Well they aren’t used to having other things in their home. Plus humans come here to go fishing and will sometimes paddle board or canoe, but it’s too cold for us to stay in the water for very long.”

“What’s a paddle board?” Wooyoung looked over his shoulder as if he was searching for one.

“It’s, um, something we stand on to float in the water.”

“You can stand on water?” The merman’s mouth opened in wonder and looked down at his tail.

“Not really. It’s complicated.” San laughed nervously, then shivered.

Wooyoung let out a little whine as his eyes fell on San’s reddening legs. “San…”

“I’m f-fine. But really, how are you feeling?”

“Refreshed, in so many ways. It feels amazing to be able to swim and stretch out. And my gills!” Wooyoung sighed happily.

That’s when San realized he hadn’t really been able to interact with Wooyoung much in this form. He bit his lip and shyly reached forward to touch the merman’s neck right below his gills.

It looked so unnatural, the way the four gills sliced his neck open on either side. They started just behind his ears and curved down to each side of his neck.

Wooyoung shivered at his touch but didn’t say anything.

“Ha-“ San stumbled over his words when guilt started to claw at his throat. “Has it hurt you to breathe above water?”

The softest smile tugged at Wooyoung’s lips. “I’ve been just fine, I promise. But I think you need to get out of the water, you’re shaking.”

Now that the merman pointed it out, San realized his entire body was trembling. It was late enough in the day that the area they were in was shaded, so that didn’t help. But… “I don’t want to leave you.” He said in a tiny voice.

Wooyoung’s eyes grew round with adoration and he rolled himself over, using his elbows to prop himself up, and studied his tail.

It swished back and forth experimentally, the s tarted to glow.

“Woo? What are you doing?” San stood up and looked around. His heart started to race at the thought of someone noticing the glow, especially when it enveloped the merman’s entire body and shined brighter.

Both Yeosang and Jongho ran over, calling out to find out what was happening as San back peddled out of the lake.

Soon all three of them were staring with open mouths as Wooyoung appeared before them in his human form, wearing the shirt San had lent him all those months ago.

The merman clapped his hands before running forward to jump into San’s arms.

They spun in circles, laughing and crying, and sent a spiral of water around them from Wooyoung’s feet.

No words could express how happy San was right now. Feeling Wooyoung against him like this was something he had been dreaming of for so long.

When he started to feel dizzy, San stopped spinning and they hurried back to shore where Jongho was the next one to give Wooyoung a hug.

“that was incredible!” Yeosang said, his eyes still wide in shock. “But are you going to be alright?”

Wooyoung nodded from where he was tucked into San’s side. “I think so! Being able to swim like that really recharged me. I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to stay like this, but the fact I can change is a good start!” The merman looked at the large over San’s shoulder. “How long are we going to be here?”

“All day tomorrow and Sunday, then most of Monday. I asked for it off so we could have a little more time.” Jongho said.

Wooyoung sucked his lower lip into his mouth and hummed. “I wonder if I’ll be better by then.”

San’s forehead creased and his eyes flicked to Yeosang. His heart hurt when he started to think about having to say goodbye so soon.

Then the merman tightened his grip on San and pressed his nose to San’s neck with a whine so soft San knew only he heard it.

He took that as a sign to change the subject. “Who’s hungry?”

“Me!” Wooyoung said immediately. “What are we having?”

Jongho waived them over to the fire pit he had finished for San. The crackling fire called to San and he hurried over to sit in front of it, loving how much it heated up his chilled body.

They all watched as Jongho placed a metal grate over the flames, then started placing sausages on it to start cooking them. He also pulled out some slabs of beef while Yeosang started tearing off pieces of lettuce so they could have wraps. They also heated up a container of rice, using the flames to warm it through.

Once again, Wooyoung marveled over the meal and how much he loved the flavors humans could make. His favorite part was how he could make everything himself, which also led him to trying to steal more meat for himself whenever he could.

Which led to him him slowly reaching forward with his lips pushed out in a pout, acting as if the others couldn’t see him. He’d retreat with his prize just as slowly, then stuffed it in a lettuce wrap before devouring it.

San couldn’t help but watch everything the merman did with the shyest smile. He loved how easily Wooyoung fit in with them, but he also stood out so much in his own adorable way.

And the best part hadn’t even happened yet.

When Yeosang pulled out some marshmallows, Wooyoung’s eyes absolutely sparkled when he watched them turn a golden brown.

Yeosang handed the stick over, then walked Wooyoung through how to make a s’more.

At first Wooyoung watched his every move, but he quickly became distracted with poking the marshmallow. When a section came away on his finger, he cried out and held his finger out to San. “What happened?!”

“You’re fine.” San giggled and shook his head. “Marshmallows are sticky. Try it.”

Wooyoung glanced at his finger, up at San, then back at his finger again before sticking it in his mouth and sucking on it for a second.

San could see the exact moment that Wooyoung realized he liked the sugary treat. He started to bounce in place, then tore more chucks of the marshmallow away, licking his fingers to get everything off them.

Both Jongho and Yeosang stopped what they were doing to watch Wooyoung devour the treat before they started roasting more marshmallows for Wooyoung.

They spent the time talking about nothing or answering any questions Wooyoung had for them. Right now they were geared around the area, what camping was, and anything he could think of pertaining to camping.

He shared that merfolk did nothing like camping. The ocean was too dangerous for them to sleep anywhere but their own pod or at another pod’s home.

“What makes it so dangerous?” San asked with a thick voice.

“Mostly sharks. The bigger ones stay deep in the ocean and that’s where we make our homes.” Wooyoung fiddled with his fingers. “There are stories of sea creatures bigger than we could ever imagine, which honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if it were true. There is so much about the ocean that even we don’t know. Mother Atargatis protects us, though, and we follow her guidelines to save safe.”

“Mother Atargatis?” Yeosang leaned forward. “Why does that sound familiar?”

“She was the first mermaid and our guide to everything we know. She gives us strength and is someone we can turn to if we need strength.”

“The first mermaid… Oh!” Yeosang sat up and looked at the others. “I think I read something about her once!”

“What?” Wooyoung gasped.

“To us she is a myth. I was doing some research on ancient gods and goddesses from other countries for school once and I came across her. I think she was an Assyrian Goddess.” Yeosang hummed and looked up at the sky. “The goddess of… the moon, water, and femininity! So that makes sense!”

“Wow, Sangie, I can’t believe you remember that.” San teased. He hardly remembered anything from his school days.

His friend blushed and purposefully didn’t look at Jongho. “Well, I found that unit really interesting.”

Wooyoung leaned into San’s side and gazed into the fire. “I can’t believe there’s something that actually connects us.”

San hummed and kissed the side of his head, then let out a big yawn.

Jongho copied him and stretched his arms over his head. “Yup. I hear you there.” They all chuckled. “So, um… since Woo is human right now…” He cleared his throat and rubbed his foot against the ground. “Do you want to sleep with me in my tent Sangie?”

The older’s blushed intensified and he sputtered over his words for several seconds before succumbing to a nod. The two of them decided to avoid the awkwardness by cleaning up the campsite and shooing San and Wooyoung off to their tent when they offered to help.

San didn’t fight them. He happily pulled Wooyoung behind him to the tent closer to the water and sighed happily when they laid down at the same time.

Wooyoung was quick to press his entire body against San’s, nuzzling in and pressing soft kisses against any part of San’s skin he could reach. “I missed you so much.”

“I missed you too, Youngie. God, I missed this so much.” San tightened his grip on the boy.

He never wanted to let Wooyoung go.

Never…

Could he actually take the merman back to his home? San was starting to doubt he had the strength to do it. He knew it would be so painful. And he was a selfish person…

He didn’t want to say goodbye again.


End file.
